Things that got me through the early days.

[Emmiedarling]

This time last year I was on this forum continually as I was expecting my first baby in September.

Nearly a year on (!) I thought i would pop back and say hello.

I still can not believe I have my own little (or not so little now!) baby slumbering next door who will soon be a whole year old.

Anyway, I digress. I wanted to stop by and tell you of my experiences on what is useful in the early days.

1. Get something musical for the cot. Like this: www.amazon.co.uk/Tomy-Winnie-Sweet-Dreams-Lightshow/dp/B001A32DD8

BRILLIANT. From day one right up until now (it's still his favourite thing. Best £20 ever spent)

1. Don't buy so much cotton wool. You won't use it.

1. Buy more wipes than you think you'll need. You will use them. And more. I use Water Wipes as they have erm..water and fruit extracts and that's all. My LO has never had nappy rash and i think it is down to using these.

1. Think about your buggy choice carefully. I wanted the fancy pants Buggaboo Chamelon. Spent £800 pounds on it. I bought a City Mini Baby Jogger within one month of baby arriving.

1. The best baby book was by far Your Baby Week by Week by Dr Caroline Fertleman. Trust me, I had them all.

1. Dont buy fancy outfits for newborns. By all means get cute vests/baby grows etc. But the little jeans, shoes etc? Give them a miss. They're too stiff/hard to get on and they kick the shoes off.

1. Ditto scratch mitts. Pointless.

1. They get a bad rap on here, but I like my nappy bin. It keeps some of the stink in. ;)

My mind has gone blank. That'll have to do for now. Hope that helped someone! I remember loving these sorts of list last year! :)

xxx

Good to knoww!! :)

These are great, thank you! Xx

I don't usually put "xx" on anything unless I'm texting DP, sorry about that

The first thing we realised we had forgotten to buy was Vanish Oxi-Action powder. Nothing else will do when you're dealing with a leaky nappy!

I'm expecting ds3 - don't try to buy every plastic bit of crap around - I'm talking wipe warmers - and stuff they won't use for the first few months - walkers

Ditto the newborn stuff - people will buy stuff anyway make sure you have vests babygros etc but its worth meeting your ds before you stock up - ds2 was only 8lb2 at birth but he put on a pound a week and was huge (and fitted in newborn for about 3 days!!)

Also don't buy loads of size 1 nappies (if using disposables) they didn't last long we had to pass on packs and packs.