What's the number one investment for making life with a newborn a little bit easier?!

[runlolarun10]

Is there anything that I could buy or request as a gift that might make life as a first time mum just a little bit easier?

Amby hammock and slings

Two children later I've still never bought a cot or pram or stroller.

My LO loved her playmat with arches over the top. Would lie looking at the dangly things for long enough for me to do dishes or get myself dressed.

Bouncer chair is great too. I went with a basic one from Mothercare (think it was about £12). LO happily sits in it for ages while we chatter to her, she snoozes in it, and she likes being 'up' to see what's going on.

Swaddle sheet - I got some Aden and Anais ones, which are gorgeous and my one 'splurge' item. Think a pack of four is about £30. She is swaddled in them for every nap and at nighttime.

For mum: nice bubble bath and a good book - you must make sure to take a little time out while they are so small in order to re-charge your batteries - dad will be perfectly fine for an hour while you have a relaxing soak.

muslins! lots of.
Sling. I liekd the kari me too.
bouncy chair
play mat
swaddling blanket
grobags when baby is big enough.

Don't bother with a top and tail bowl or baby bath. Never used ours.

Angel care nappy bin - I have two - one downstairs in front room and one in bedroom. They do not smell - so easy to dispose of once full. Well worth £7.

Another one for the travel mug here!

For when baby starts sitting up on its own, you absolutely must get one of those big 'rubber ring' type things that you can just plonk them in whilst you
drink wine get on with the house work. We didn't for DS1, but it was a godsend for DS2.

Nit comb.

Flat shoes.
Sweets for your coat.
Waterproof coat.

You'll walk miles.

Wrap-around sling - indispensable!

(Not a baby bjorn type though - not good for your body or your babies!)

Sling.

Dishwasher.

Freezer full of meals.

Another vote for bouncy chair. I had a great one for dd with hanes which realy helped as I could lug her about from room to room with me one handed.

InappropriateCrushe do you mean the Bumbo? A friend gave us one to use and DD could get out if in in seconds. Probably the most unsafe thing we've ever had in the house.

Time.

Time with nothing else but feeding and sleeping (yourself and baby). That's the best investment. Obviously someone will need to be preparing food for you and keeping up with the washing... but you will have plenty of visitors I should imagine . Can't get easier than that

and a sling.

We are hoping this will make life easier:

www.mamasandpapas.com/product-magic-stargaze-playmat-stripe/759482710/type-i/

in conjunction with this

www.mamasandpapas.com/product-magic-card-toys-pack-play-sleep-relax/448803700/type-i/

xx

agree with loads of these and one more to add ..... if you are not breastfeeding, Avent microwave steriliser - brilliant. Takes 6 mins to sterilise. I have twins so we had a LOT of bottles. Sure other brands do one too, we chucked everything in there.

I'd go with white noise and a bedside cot.

jilted I think inappropriate is on about something like this, known as the doughnut in our house

my SIL gave DD one, it had arches with stuff hanging off it too, we lost those after time but she did love lounging about in it, playing with her toys. until then we'd had this simple mothercare one which she also loved (and we still used a lot)

A second vote for the Avent microwave steriliser - it's brilliant and you can also use it to sterilise jam jars!

The only thing you need to check is that it will fit in the microwave; we weren't expecting to have to use bottles but were told we had to (long story) so DH was dispatched to Tesco to buy bottles/steriliser and then brought them all home to find we then needed a new microwave. Doh.

The interior of our microwave measures 18x30x29 (HxWxD in cm) and fits the steriliser perfectly, FYI.

Oh, and we got an under-counter freezer (Gumtree, but Freecycle is good as well) so we could store loads of premade food and not have to think about cooking! Invaluable

Good soft sling for baby wearing....I had the Close Baby Carrier and have used it for all 3 DS.... baby got loads of sleep/cuddles/warmth, helped with poorly tummies/colic, meant I had 2 hands free to do things and to give more attention to the older boys! Impossible to negotiate a playground and help a 17 month old onto the swings etc if they are in the middle of the sandpit and your sleeping baby is stuck in a buggy!

Yet another vote for a bouncy chair, great for bouncing with your foot whilst trying to eat / do anything that needs hands.

Sling / soft structured front carrier, great for getting LO to sleep and for hanging out the washing!!

One of those swings that swings itself. Means you can actually move around and DO things. Very handy!

Depends on how near you are to shops, but get at least six months supply of your face cream, deodorant, toothpaste, sanpro, anything you don't want to run out of but will be too baby-brained to remember to buy and can't pop out to get any more. Likewise good supply of birthday cards and stamps. Anything you might need to browse to buy, like clothes, get now!

And if you haven't done online grocery shopping, practise now.

A swing is definitely better than a bouncer! get one second hand or borrow one if need be. They're wonderful.

A good carrier - Close Carrier for the early days when they are too young for a baby bjorn. Get the baby bjorn with back support (Active), as the regular one kills your shoulders.

Find an online service where you can get tasty ready made meals delivered in batches & freeze them. You will have no time or inclination to cook (if you're like me).