Do I really need...?

[runlolarun10]

Hi. I'm making my way through a list of things I need to buy for my first baby and have bought most things on my list (mostly second hand from ebay and gumtree) but do I really need the following items?:

Waterproof mattress cover
Baby bath
'Nursing' pillow
Mobile for baby's cot
Baby gym/playmat
Night light?

Money's not so tight that I can't afford them if necessary and would like to get what I need now, but are there any that I shouldn't even bother with?

Thanks!

babybath, you'll get one for £2 at a nearly new, yes you do need it if you don't wanna waste loads of water (baby dams don't work and nearly catapulted DS out of his bath )

mattress cover, a fleece under your undersheet should be fine

nursing pillow: no not really, I needed mine during pregnancy for sleeping so used it after for nursing but didn't feel comfortable nursing in the cradle position anyway, found biological nurturing positions much better so no nursing pillow needed

mobile for baby's cot: no they look dangerous!

play mat/gym - YES! get one of these!

night light - no not if you have a hall light that'll give you some light in the bedroom while keeping it dim

Rather than a baby bath, which will kill your back, look for a cheapy bath supprt so you can bathe them in the big bath. I found a nursing pillow essential, but a normal v shaped pillow would do. Never bothered with a mobile or a nightlight. I did find a gym useful, but bought one for a few pounds. I'm not sure if you mean a waterproof sheet for you or the baby? In the last weeks of pregnancy and early days of breastfeeding I just slept on a towel and I didn;t ever use a waterproof cover for the cot mattress, I think it may have already had a cover on it tbh.

The only one of those we had was a playmat that a friend gave us and we used it a lot.

Im of with dc 4 so if of any use,
I never used a baby bath, started them in sink then just held them in normal bath or used a bath seat.
Nursing pillow, found useful especially at beginning when not so confident with bf'ing.
Playmat they loved from about 8 weeks
Nightlight never had one but think perhaps they might be useful

Some sort of low light for night feeds and nappy changes is useful, but it doesn't matter what.
I found a baby gym useful when the DDs were older. Mobiles get in the way and I never used a baby bath. I borrowed a bath support and used the big bath, far easier.

Waterproof sheet essential in this house because I had a homebirth and then it went on DD2s double bed when she was a toddler, but I can't think why you'd need one for a newborn.
Our cots mattresses was waterproof with a quick to wash breathable top pad.

As for using lots of water it's a total myth that babies need lots of baths.
That's what baby wipes are for

I hung the mobile over the changing mat - it was an excellent distraction

Baby gym is great for letting DS kick about on the floor, it's nice and smooth for his head and has things he can reach out for.

We have a mobile, but hardly ever use it, so that was a waste of money for us.

I tried a mobile and a nightlight for getting DS to sleep, neither really worked.

Baby gym, he spent a lot of time on it, but up to you how essential you think it is. I got mine £15 in Asda, it doesnt need to cost £50 cant believe how much people spend on some things!

Baby bath. I bought one and used it for the first few months, then took DS in the bath with me. I stayed at my mums a few times, and he had a bath in a washing up bowl there Bath again was from Asda and about £3.

Nursing pillow - for pregnancy and the first few weeks BFing, I just used extra normal pillows. Once I was used to it, I didnt need a pillow at all.

Waterproof mattress cover - it has never occurred to me that I needed one of these!! Can see how it would be useful with a sicky baby, but apart from that, DS never wet/sicked/pooed through anything to that extent!

Waterproof mattress cover - never used one
Baby bath - Likewise. Borrowed one from a friend and maybe used it once. Both my girls have just been bathed with me.
'Nursing' pillow - Really really used this for DD1, DD2 not so much, but I did use it for comfortable sleeping in pregnancy
Mobile for baby's cot - Not til around 4 months I think. I've lost the musical part for it and haven't been able to use it for DD2. It's certainly not desperate.
Baby gym/playmat - Yes - but again, not til 3/4 months ish, when they're starting to reach out for things and reacting to the world around them. Before then there's not a whole lot of point.
Night light - No. Finally got a couple for DD1 when she was 3, but I never bothered or felt the need when they were smaller.

I just used a specificly new washing tub in the kitchen sink, baby bath was used once as i pulled a muscle transfering it to the table, i won't be getting another one this time.

Nursing pillow? well i would just get a triangular pillow which is useful to use as a napping pillow downstairs, although the proper nursing pillows sell really well on ebay, so you could get most of your money back doing that.

Baby gym/play mat, yes these are great from the start, you can also use the triangular pillow on these for tummy time, and put a towel underneath them on it for some nappy free time if they get a rash.

i wouldn't bother with a cot mobile really, they never really keep baby in the cot longer than when they want to get out and see you, eat iykwim.

Night light, well if you think long term them they can be worth it, my ds is 4 and has had one in his room since birth, handy for feeding/changing at night without too much disruption, and used when they are toddlers when they hate the dark, or when they learn to get up and go to the toilet at night.

You can get most of these cheap on ebay or second hand/freecycle etc, so doesn't have to be a massive outlay.
Babies don't need fancy things, if anything the simpler the better.

Waterproof mattress cover- I found this useful as the baby would sick up a lot during the first 3 months.

Baby bath- Not needed

'Nursing' pillow- Not needed- I just used spare pillows we had.

Mobile for baby's cot- I love it!

Baby gym/playmat- Not needed as long as you have a nice rug/soft toys for the baby to lie down and play with.

Night light- My DS has never slept with a night light although for the first 3-4months did sleep with the radio on :S

A waterproof mattress cover came in useful for protecting my bed from DS's scary newborn shooting-across-the-room poos (they can fire poo over a metre ) when changing him on my bed. It reached the parts other changing mats didn't.

I really got it for if my waters went in bed, but never needed it for that.

Baby bath, hmm. Not sure. It weighed a ton when full and DS hated it. Ikea do a cheap one, but not as cheap as eBay.

Mobile? They can only see about a foot away for the first fortnight and cannot be fooled by a mobile when what they want is you, IME.

Nightlight? Nah. Landing or bathroom light worked fine.

I just used a normal pillow. It was fine. I tried one of those really long pillows for pregnancy but it takes up more room in the bed than me, and DS has taken to referring to it as "Keith". God knows why.

DS loathed his baby gym to the point of hysteria (like the bath) and was loads happier on a folded up fleece on the floor.

I knew I was going to give birth in hospital and likely to have a c section, so that affected how I feel about things!
Waterproof mattress - n/a since in hospital
Baby bath - I bathed her in the sink for ages, but she got a bit big and I got an on the top bath because it was painful to lift her. Friends have used either buckets or washing up bowls.
Mobile - I found it a lifesaver but def don't get a wind up one
Nightlight - nah
Baby gym - I found it gave me a few mins to get stuff done. you could probably use a blanket!

i would say baby bath yes, playmat yes, the rest not that important. matress proector could be good if your dc sicks in the bed it will protect it but waterproof is prob more for older toddlers wetting the bed

I was given a waterproof sheet and was so glad of it... my waters broke in bed the night I put it on! Using it on DDs cot bed now to avoid sicky incidents.
Baby bath is essential as we don't have a tub, only a shower.
Bought a baby gym on a car boot sale and it was a great bargain, she loved it and we used it a lot.
Mobile and nightlights are less essential but can be picked up really cheaply IME.
I wouldn't buy a top and tail bowl or baby grooming kit BTW :)

Waterproof mattress cover - our mattress was bought with a waterproof cover, but that along with sheet, sleeping bag plus pyjamas, seems to be enough.

Baby bath - we still use ours with DS of 18 months! It feels safer for us somehow. I get a little paranoid about him slipping He does sometimes use the big bath though, which is really fine, but small bath also uses less water and he likes it nice and deep! When he was little (5lb at birth!) we had a little reclined seat which we used in the big bath which helped support him so you could wash him at the same time. So not essential but we do find it useful.

'Nursing' pillow - don't have one, but used one at the hospital with premmie baby, and did help support your shoulders and back which can get sore with feeding. I used a regular pillow though which I thought worked just as well.

Mobile for baby's cot - we were given one, so was a luxury, but baby loved it, especially the music. Until he could stand up and pull it down... at which point we had to remove it! Would depend on the baby though and certainly not essential. He did sometimes fall asleep with music on so mobile useful there.

Baby gym/playmat - baby loved it and was very useful and stimulating - recommend.

Night light? - nah, not necessary. DS would prob now just pull it off the table and break it! Think most little babies like darkness anyway.

Waterproof mattress cover - for your bed or the cot? I think most cots have a waterproof cover. For your mattress, I can see it being a benefit but they make you soooo sweaty

Baby bath - we got one off a friend and still use it with DS nearly 2 years on, saves a lot of water. We use it in the bigger bath which works well coz you can still splash

'Nursing' pillow - I didn't have one and struggled. Borrowed a friend's once and it was BLISS. I fully intend on getting one this time round!

Mobile for baby's cot - my son still loves his and likes it to go off to sleep

Baby gym/playmat - DS's almost exclusive toy for many months! Got one off ebay for a fiver (could have got one even cheaper but this one was nearby so we could pick it up easily)

Night light - useful at night when you want to peek on the kids but don't want to turn on your landing light.

And I would say that most or all of these things can and should be bought second hand :)

waterprrof mattress cover - ha! just assumed for baby bed. Didn't even consider one for ours!

Thanks for all your responses and advice! Looks like most of the items are worth getting if I can so I shall continue to make my way down my list. I'm trying to get the best things I can, for the cheapest possible price and so far I have got some amazing bargains, though this has taken hours of trawling through review sites, ebay and gumtree etc.
I did mean a waterproof cover for baby's cot and am now mildly alarmed at the thought of my waters breaking on my lovely mattress so will add that to my list!

Waterproof mattress cover - for the cot? A lot of mattresses have machine washable covers anyway.

Baby bath - we used a tummy tub and it was fantastic!

Nursing pillow - very useful

Cot mobile - we got one and dd couldn't have cared less.

Play mat - she loved this

Night light - we didn't bother and have never missed it

Waterproof mattress cover - Useful for baby bed (although I have an absorbent pad rather than a cover, for sick and leaky bums) Vital for your bed if you are bf (leaks) or if you are paranoid about waters breaking
Baby bath - Nope, I got one of those supports that is like a frame with some towelling hanging off it, and put it in the bath, you only need 2" of water in the bath, and a sponge/flannel. I didn't have room to store a baby bath and I am glad because DS would have grown out of it in weeks.
'Nursing' pillow - Very useful, DS used to cluster feed a lot, I took to lying him on the pillow to feed hands free and reading a book, or pottering on the PC. I got an inflatable one from Boots for under a tenner.
Mobile for baby's cot - Not at first, but I got one of those infa-stim ones when he got to a couple of months old and was actually lying with his eyes open for amounts of time. He really liked it, and it meant he would lie down entertained while I dried my hair or something. I would wait, you don't need it from newborn.
Baby gym/playmat - handy for play/tummy time etc, again they won't be interested in it for a couple of months at least.
Night light? - handy if your room is very dark for being able to feed or change without turning on a light. Our monitor has a light on it, which is handy for when we go away, but we have a streetlamp right outside so our room is never really dark. If you do get one, you don't need a fancy baby one, just one of those that goes into a socket and gives a slight glow.