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?

A really good light comfy buggy like a bugaboo that is easy to carry, lift, move, travel with, fit a car seat to cos baby can nap in it anywhere ( pub, restaurant, mates house, park, airport) up to toddler size and wherever you are it's familiar for them. godsend if you want to get out lots (especially without a car)or have to travel to see far flung family/friends. Plus all your baby crap/nappy bag/shopping can go under the buggy or on the handles.You can get the cheapie small fold down small type ones later on for 20 quid for short trips to nursery etc
Baby bjorn type carrier for first 6-8 months also handy for quick trips out to park but baby does get heavy quickly...

Bean bag - we kept ours on bathroom floor. Meant I could go to the toilet, have a shower/bath and still have baby right next to me especvially when hubby at work. We used it up until he was able to sit up. In the mornings i'd transfer it to bedroom so I could actually get dressed, hair done etc. Ds still still watches me get ready every morning only now he's crawling he's into everything.

Oh no Jilted not a Bumbo - I agree with you about them. We had the same as what Oltob linked to (a Playnest).

Another thing that worked really well for us was buying a Travel System (great if baby falls asleep in the car seat in the car, and you need to transfer them onto the pram wheels without waking or moving them from one place to another). If you see what I mean. wishes could be more articulate when mumsnetting

The best investment is the people around you. There is a custom amongst many Asian families of a new mother spending the first 40 days with her own mother, so her only 'job' is to look after the baby.

That's not a very easy thing to do for most people, but really, any support you can put in place now will pay dividends later.

Find out where your local support groups are for things like breastfeeding, bumps & babes, etc. and get a list.

And seconded to the slings - they do mean you have more freedom but can still get snuggles.

I loved:

dryer
swaddling blanket
DH at home for a week and then two weeks part-time
a good pram
lots of second hand clothes
iPod - lots of lullabies on it when DD was crying her head off with colics

I hated
the wrap and sling, I am just not the type for babywearing and also DD wasn't keen on being restricted after the first couple of weeks
breastfeeding pillow, easier to do without
bouncer - DD hated it until she was 5 months when it suddenly became interesting

Therefore: everyone is different and every baby is different. I would try to get things second-hand, it may be cheaper if it doesn't work for you.

Thank you all so much. Have a major list to work from now!

Ooh, and we made it on to 'discussions of the day'. This is the most exciting thing that's happened all week!

mini chopper & handblender set... I didn't have one of these for my first DC but I got one for my 2nd baby. What a difference it made when I was moving him onto solids!

Again though meredeux if the OP, or her Lo, decide to do BLW she won't need either of those items at all.

I have twins and could not have coped without:

Bouncy chairs
A hundred muslins
Seriously good hand cream if you are formula feeding
Baby gym
Angelcare nappy bin - we have two and they are brilliant although we are dealing with double the number of nappies and a dog who would like to eat them!

Never bothered with stocking the freezer, but did get a slow cooker and start online grocery shopping.

The biggest and best bed you can afford

what is BLW?

Loving Silentboob's post. So so true. DH just grinned when I read it out and said 'Works for husbands too' If you're BFing, Lansinoh is worth its weight in gold and IIRC, Tommee Tippee do the best breastpads.

Other than boobs I'd say my Moby wrap, bouncy chair, grobags, muslins (I used to think WTH are they for?) - incredibly useful. Also, a stack of DVDs to watch whilst feeding in a bleary-eyed state on the sofa. Ideally TV series type ones that you can watch in shortish blocks.

Meredeux BLW is baby-led weaning, ie not necessarily feeding baby purees, baby rice etc but following baby's cues, giving finger food etc, enabling them to feed themselves. My boys both preferred this to purees.

Couldn't agree more with the freezer full of meals. After DS2, some of our friends from church organised a rota to bring round hot meals for a week or so after I came home from hospital. I could have cried with gratitude.

baby bjorn rocker - bit expensive but soooo worth it. They are properly balanced/good for spines blah blah which means that baby LOVES sitting in it (and still does aged 19 months - she thinks it is the best chair in the world) She now sits in it to "read" look at the pictures whilst babbling gobbledegook her books

lots of muslins.

a blackout buggy cover (seriously good investment - invaluable if you are out and about and baby needs a nap)

A very comfy chair to sit for feeding...rocker/glider things. Work brilliantly for babies ESP those with colds cough and acid reflux nice also if you have a csec and sitting is uncomfortable.
Great for toddlers to sit on and read.

def baby bjorn carrier

There are much better carriers than the bjorn. Have a quick gander at the carrier section. I've used one someone gave me, quickly ditched it and went to stretchier, then wovens then ergo/boba. So good no need to buy a pram

Anyone used a babsling im contemplating buying one ?
X

babasling*

Bed guards, a double bed to yourself with baby, and a working set of boobies + heavy duty lined curtains x

I second the travel system, for all transport needs.

You need to be able to place baby down in the car seat while folding the pram.
There's nothing worse than going to catch a bus and being denied getting on 3 in a row, because theres no space for you unless you fold your pram (due to it being a two hand job). MANY drivers would drive on before offering to help sadly.
Also, so you can leave baby in the car seat when going shopping, put the car seta in the trolly, the baby trolleys arent always available.

A post natal doula.

We have 14 wo twins. Most things already mentioned above already but my life savers were/are
Night nanny 3 nights a week for first 8 weeks
Ameda double electic breast pump (hospital grade), hire from Www.breastpumps.co.uk with next day delivery
Travel cot with changing station for downstairs naps like this
Avent steam steriliser
Bjorn baby sitter bouncy chairs
Angelcare nappy bins
Lamp/ torch for night feeding without waking DH/other twin!
Very helpful family including wonderful MIL who help with many 2am bottle feeds

I set up a wishlist on Amazon and added things as I found them. Then 1 week before mat leave started I clicked 'buy' on everything and had millions of parcels delivered!

angelcare monitor. I wouldn't be without one. Very good for peace of mind as it detects movement, including from baby's breathing.