First Baby and don't know what best things to buy

[BabyAcorn]

Hello fellow Mummies. I am finding everything quite overwhelming, with how many of every product there is to choose from. It reminds me of when I got married.
Today I received an Avent bottle, as I went on their web site, and it's got me thinking. I am 25 weeks, what should I be looking at buying now or soonish?
I would really appreciate some thoughts on this, I would like to breast feed, but know that I would also like Hubba to feed to, so bottles would be good too and maybe an electric pump? But do I do bottle or plastic bag bottles? And how many bottles do we think?
I suddenly feel as I am the only person out of my friends who is pregnant [ I'm 27] I cant really ask any one close.
Would really appreciate anything any-one has found really good, and don't get me started on prams!I just cant decide!Is it really that bad to be wanting everything lovely, perfect for this thing that keeps me awake already all night!?!?!

Hi,
I might be a bit out of date as my youngest is 8 now but from memory.....

The maternity hospitals used to hire out breast pumps. You could try one and then buy one if you liked it. I never got to grips with it so mainly breast fed with an occasional bottle of formula.

Lots of old knickers to wash or throw away for the first week....no scratchy paper ones!

Thick comfy breast pads.....used to be Johnson and Johnson in my day! I found the other ones scratchy around the edge.

We bought very little to start with.....you will get lots of gifts and the shops are open 7 days a week so easily got if needed.

A bit expensive, so if anyone asks you what you really, really need: a Bt baby monitor. Not got lots of bells and whistles on it -you can't see sproglet - but you can hear them really well and it lets you know the temperature. Best thing is that it can play tunes (whihc you can control from the living room) and you can record your own. I recorded myself 'shushing' for 2 minutes, whihc machine then looped to 15 minutes. It has been a life-saver on more than one occasion. Ds is almost 2 and can clear a supermarket with his shouting, so I can probably lay off a bit now. in fact, better had as DC 2 is due in 3 months!

Ps Tommy Tippee breast pump was ace. Would have DS on one boob and the pump on teh other so I could build a bank of milk, thus allowing me to be baby free on occasion. Quite relaxing in some ways.

I've got 3 DS and there are some things I use lots and some things I barely used.

It is such a personal thing and what somebody says is 'essential' you may never use.

I bought little muslin wipes to use instead of cotton wool. These have saved me a fortune and I only use wet wipes when we are out and about and cotton wool in hospital.

I tried re-useables nappies but never got on with them

I have never used a bottle - DS have had either sippy cups or doidy cups for expressed milk

We have two baby monitors and they are fantastic

I loved the moses basket but they are really expensive for such a short time - borrow or second hand is best

Baby baths and supports useful again for such a short time

I use my top and tail bowls all the time

I wish I had bought a cot with a drop down side so that it could go next to the bed

I wish I had a lovely comfy breastfeeding chair for the babys bedroom once they move in at 6 months

I had a basic handheld breast pump which was invaluable for DS1 but never used for DS2 or DS3.

I LOVE my all singing all dancing pram/pushchair. It is a mamas and papas and when I had DS1 it was called a 3 in 1. It has a proper pram which they can sleep over night in - fantastic for visits to grandparents / holidays / weekends away or even every night when they are little. It has a proper pushchair were they sit rather than be in a 'bucket'. I have been using it on a daily basis for 5 years and still love it. Yes I have a maclaren for throwing in the car / going on the bus but if we are doing any amount of walking then the proper pushchair is used. It has been down the beach, through the woods, and survived.

I was not going to have a baby bouncing seat but it was fantastic and I wish we had got one that could be used as a toddler seat

Baby mat/gym was great for DS1 but DS2 and DS3 spent much less time on it.

DS1 was a very 'different' baby and was never sick! So all the muslins were not needed until I had DS2 and he was sick everywhere all the time! They are a definite long term buy as they are great for using as a bib, wiping up toilet training spills, etc - IKEA is great for these and is great for so many other things

I have two slings - baby byorn and moby and have never got on with either. I find they may my shoulders / back ache terribly. However I could not have coped with DS2 or DS3 without them!

My best advice is to borrow / buy second hand as much as possible and then if you love something / use it a lot then splash out on the things that matter.

Enjoy every minute with your tiny new born. It is for such a tiny time!

Things that I never used (although I bought some of them):

1. A nappy change bag. It is still a mystery to me what goes in them. If you are breastfeeding, all you need to take out is a couple of nappies and a mini packet of wipes.
2. A baby bouncer.
3. Moses basket.
4. Muslins
5. Nappy cream. You get a sample pot of sudocrem. That lasted me through two babies.

Things that didn't seem important but turned out to be brilliant:

1. One of those cushions that is shaped like half a doughnut. You can then have both hands free to read the newspaper while breastfeeding.
2. Some kind of bath support. I had one of those triangular ones, but other people on here are talking about a foam cushion thing - that may be newer and better.
3. A sling.

Also, a bit later on, a baby gym.

Congratulations baby acorn. Must start by apologising, as I've only read the first page, so hope I'm not missing something or repeating someone, but wanted to comment on the breast pump.

We have a fab breastfeeding centre local to us (charity run, but supported by Surestart) who have everything you need for feeding etc but at subsidised prices. Brilliant money savers were the bras, and the electric pumps for hire - don't worry, you don't get someone's used pump, as all the attachments, pipes, bottles etc are new each time and I just bought the new bits and paid about £10 to hire the pumping unit - so the whole lot for about £15, a huge moneysaver. And great because I found that pumping wasn't for me, so I barely used and would have been really cross if I'd forked out a fortune for one.

I'm in Yorkshire, but I'm sure I can't be the only person in the country with one of these centres on the doorstep, so ask your MW/HV/Surestart centre where your local one is.

Good luck with the baby, and with the shopping

Sling , sling and sling again - as many have said, everyone is different and each child is too. With DC's1&2, I had a babybjorn that I liked but with DC3, I had a close sling which I loved and used all the time. I'm still using the babasling now with DC 3 and she is 14 months.

Think about how you are planning to spend your time once baba is here before shelling out on the pram/ carseat/ etc. With DC1, where we lived meant that she was in the car a bit and we had no storage space, so I needed something that folded small and would attach a car seat. With DC2 ( soon after), he used the same as we couldn't justify a new one . Now DC 3 came a bit later, after I'd sold all my old stuff and so had to get all new. And by now, life was a bit different and I wasn't using a car much due to where we live and we have a garage to store the buggy in, so this time, I had a bigger buggy, that I never folded up, hardly ever attached the car seat to the frame and she lived in the sling, which was a life saver. We walked miles and I even managed to feed her in it - v funny when I met an old man at a bus stop who asked if I had a baby in there. Normally would have taken chance to show her off but as she was mid meal, decided it was probably best not to

Hope the pregnancy goes well and enjoy being a mum - especially those first, irreplaceable cuddles. baby shopping is fun - especially at NCT sales where it is so cheap and final tip, if anyone offers you anything, just say yes, as you never know when you might use it ( my babasling is a great eg - friend offered it, been on the back of a door for a year and now, really useful!)

I have a Silvercross Surf & one of the best things I brought was the MaxiCosi car seat adapters, it makes life so much easier if the baby is asleep in the car & you need to quickly pop somewhere.

Bouncy chair is another must, you can put the baby in it and take them up to the bathroom while you have a shower.

I brought most of my stuff (apart from the pram) off EBay & car boot sales and saved a load of money.

If you think you might have more than one child, avoid getting too much stuff in pink so you can reuse it in case dc2 is a boy.
consider buying much stuff secondhand (NCT sales are great) or borrowing, taking handmedowns.. babies outgrow things SO quickly! And some equipment that you can easily clean is well worth getting secondhand.
try not to buy too much in advance eg. you might never need/use a breast pump and they tend to have v strict return policy.
and bear in mind that what one friend tells you their baby loves, your one might hate. I think slings are a good example of this - best to wait until baby has arrived and you can try him in it.

For the first 2 weeks the real essentials are:

Car seat, buggy/pram, sling (we used our sling loads even around the house)
Moses basket, sheets, blankets
Nappies, cotton wool
Vests, sleep suits, hat, cardi
Nipple cream and breast pads for you
Maternity pads for you and some of those maternity sheets so you can have a break from the pads but not bleed on the bed sheet
Nightie with buttons down front for feeding
Muslins
Strong painkillers, make sure you can have them whilst breast feeding

In the next few weeks you will need:
Bouncer chair/recliner
Baby gym
Baby bath (we didn't give DS a proper bath until he was 3 weeks old, a good wipe wash with cotton wool is ample)
Wipes
Baby shampoo and bath stuff
Pump and bottles, just get one of those starter kits which have the basics

IMHO you can wait another few weeks until you need:
Toys
Sleeping bag (you can't actually put a small newborn in a sleeping bag but they are brilliant once your baby gets to 8 lb or so)

We didn't put DS in a cot until 3 months so don't feel you need that yet. We had ours set up weeks before DS was born and it stood there getting dusty for ages!

Good luck.

I haven't used cotton wool this time once out of hospital, have bought about 20 White face cloths, make dampnwith warm water and
wipe bum. Stick in a nappy bag at night, and treat as a reusable nappy. Doesn't stick to the poo so much, or shred.

Oh, and great for clean ups of sticky handsand faces and kitchen when older!

But still used A little cotton wool for sticky eyes...

Does this count as drip feed?

I would advise not buying a breast pump until you've been breastfeeding for a few weeks at least -as you don't know what's going to happen and it might be a waste of money. You might end up hand-expressing or ff. If you do breastfeed I would highly recommend the following;
gel for nipples start using from day 1 to help with sore nipples - it's expensive but worth it.
cushion
and once you've been bf-ing for a couple weeks some good quality nursing bras.
I would also say don't bother buying newborn/0-3 mnth outfits just vests and babygrows and a couple of cardigans, you'll probably get that sort of thing as presents.
You don't really need a moses basket but you will need a cot, car seat and pram. Also bedding, I would recommend sleeping bags/grow bags but they are more expensive than blankets (rem. to check tog -1 for summer.
A couple of blankets for pram/swaddling.
Muslins - loads. Bibs - likewise. 2 hats (wooly for winter, sun hats for summer baby). A pack of newborn nappies (or 10!), baby wipes, nappy bags.
Hope this helps x

Also, if you've a bad back like me don't bother buying a sling.
It's really handy to have a couple of the pre-mix formula cartons plus bottles in the cupboard for emergencies (even if you're breastfeeding)

I second the lady that said don't bother stocking up on nappy cream - you just don't know what your baby is going to be like. My DD is in cloth and we have hardly ever had a nappy rash, I am still on the sample pot of sudocrem that I got in my bounty pack at 18 months !

Similarly DD has never been a sicky or dribbly baby so I haven't had any need for loads of muslins or bedding - I change her cot once a week and it's never dirty. I think I had one night when she was small when we had a sicky night that I had to change the cot.

You never know what hand you're going to be dealt and therefore I wouldn't bother buying tons of stuff before the baby gets here or you might end up, like me, with piles of bedding that have never seen life outside the cupboard.

A vote here for the mothercare changing mat that has sides - it's £14 so pricier than some of hte others but it has lasted me very well and still providing sterling service. My friend is on her 3rd "cheap" chaning mat and wishes she'd just spend more to start with ! I never bought the cover to go on it, just put a muslin over it when changing her.

You don't need a changing bag; I don't have one and just have a large handbag with a large waterproof makeup type bag full of the stuff I need when out and about.

I would recommend a "close" type sling, definitely not baby bjorn as they look very uncomfortable both for Mum and baby. The close carriers carry them up high and when baby is bigger you could consider moving on to a wrap sling which gives you lots of versatility in carries. There might be a "slingmeet" near you which you could go to to try slings and meet new friends

and I bought a lovely bouncy seat on Ebay and was dead pleased with it, thought it was lovely. Unfortunately DD did not concur and would not sit in it. The moral of this story - if you are looking at buying something expensive see if you can try it out before you buy !

If I only have to name one item - it would be a feeding chair (the one that rocks). So comfy! Good for breastfeeding, good for bottle feeding, good for rocking without walking, good for watching telly. Shame they don't look that nice - I would have installed it in my sitting room permanently.

Attend one of the NCT nearly new sales if you want to save money - lots of good stuff there!

I just bought tripp trapp chair for my 3-year-old!

re rocking chair - a cheap alternative is a good birthing ball :) I got one anyway to use for exercising at home but MW pointed out it will come in handy to rock a crying baby :)

Thanks so much Mummies, I am so shocked that you all bothered to write 3 pages worth of info for me- thank you :)

I have started writing down things that it looks like nearly every one agrees with. Nipple cream a big one! My boobs are so soar already I'm putting oil and cream on them every night already so I think that will be a god send!

The more I read about 2nd hand things, the more I think I should re think my idea of buying brand new. I know my parents both sides will buy so many clothes i probably wont be bothering with many clothes,just a few for the hospital part.

With regards to feeding, I cant remember the mummies who said to wait a while before trying with a pump ,but i think that's a great idea. For some reason, I had forgotten that their can be a chance that baby may not like it different methods etc! And I will get Daddy to bathe and other bits to make him feel part of the whole experience.

I didn't even know shops now do a service in store for lists and helping!That does sound like a really good peace of mind shop. I will definitely go there and have a chat with them and get some ideas .

I have been given a moses basket now, [havent picked it up yet though] again, it's practically brand new [only been used for 6 weeks] not a scratch on it. So will just buy a new mattress, but I have heard these are quite pricey-but again haven't looked into this!

This same friend has now also offered me a brand new never been touched leather baby changing bag which was £185!! She never used it!!! It looks like a handbag and is from John Lewis,forgotten the name, Im sure you will know what Im talking about! So I have also said yes to that, as I really like it! And it's all free and from a lady who has bought expensive items so probably good quality.

I still am not 100% sure on her silver cross surf pram, £500 + does seem like an awful lot of money to spend on something with 4 wheels, that wont be brand new after youve taken it out of the car, and I guess is just like buying a 2nd hand car. I really like the stokke pram and for what it stands for etc, so will need to have a big think about that.

One other thing I wanted to ask you Mummies, was I think I really would like to have a few days of rest with baby at our local birthing centres afterwards. Just as I think i will be so overwhelmed with it all,excited ,nervous, anxious, do you think if you have been to one, this is a good idea? Plus how many nights did you stay the night?

A friend has just had a baby and by the 2 day they went out to dinner, and she's taken him to London already from Southampton and it's not even a month old, she's so brave! It then makes me think I am making a massive issue out of going to this place, rather than home.I know every one is different......Any thoughts? And thank you for taking the time out to bother replying :)

the best £40 i ever spent was on a braun thermoscan, a thermometer to check dd's temp. luckily because she was prone to croup and high temps when she was younger and i knew when calpol (or medised at that time!) would be ok or when she needed hospital

My DD is 5 weeks old, I bought most things on the standard lists to be honest and have found most of it useful. I find the baby sling gives me back ache at the moment so am still practising and have not opened my nipple cream. Have also found it more convenient storing breast pump etc. in a container with milton rather than using the steriliser, just refill every morning and pop in when not using and it's always sterile and ready to go.

I have been exclusively BF until the other night when DP gave her her first bottle of expressed milk, she was a little confused by the bottle but it doesn't seem to be causing problems. I'm thinking that DP will probably give her a bottle maybe once a week to give me a better nights sleep! I bought an avent manual pump (electric ones cost a fortune) and it is comfy and has worked fine. I did use an electric pump in the hospital, which was probably a little more efficient than the manual but for what I need the manual one's fine.

We've been using reusable nappies for the past couple of weeks, we've got totsbots easyfit all in one birth to potty for day and bamboozle streetchies for night. The night nappies are huge on her (she's still only 8lb 7oz) but she hasn't complained! Apart from having to wash them daily just now as we're still in the neverending nappy changing phase they've been great.

I would definitely recommend staying in your birth centre for a few days, especially if you're planning to BF. I stayed one night but ended up back in hospital a couple of days after going home as DD wouldn't feed and had lost too much weight. Stay in, don't bother getting dressed, lie in bed, cuddle your baby lots and ask someone to help you feed every 3 hours until you have the hang of it. Don't leave the centre until you and your baby are managing regular feeds comfortably. The hospital sent me home saying "she'll start feeding regularly soon" as they'd seen us manage one feed on our own and we had 2 nights of being awake for hours trying everything to try and get our very sleepy baby to suck.

PS: Seem to remember moses basket mattress was fairly cheap (ours is from mamas and papas) but cot bed mattresses can get expensive.