New baby paraphernalia

[BeginnerSAHM]

So, there seem to be loads of 'new' new baby things these days. Things have moved on in the 5 years since I was last pregnant... Does anybody have any views on a 'sleepyhead bed guard' (kind of Moses basket substitute nest-thing) or as 'cocoonababy'. Or shall I just stick with my knackered cheap John Lewis woven Moses basket and get a new mattress? Also, what is so amazing about Aden and Anais swaddle blankets? Aren't they just giant decorated muslins?

Thoughts appreciated! Thank you!!

DD is 2.6, we didn't have anything you mentioned.

We co slept about three months, then she went into an Ikea cot. We have never bought a single muslin. Wrt wipes and towels have been fine.

A lot of stuff is unnecessary wank, imvho and just more money to spend. If someone had gifted me something, I'd have used it, but I wasn't going to wadte my money on things like nappy bin, top-and-toe basin, bottle-drying-tree etc.

Ha - yes, well I'm not planning on going crazy with baby number 3... Just had an unusual quiet moment and was having a surf on the John Lewis website and was rather curious... We shall be mostly economising. Children/childcare etc are quite expensive!! My Ikea cot has now gone through 5 babies though and is destroyed - apparently. But, I have a cotbed anyway (babies numbers 1 and 2 were v close together and both in cots at the same time) so will using that once we're past the Moses stage!

I found it really difficult deciding what to buy as what one person swore changed their lives someone else declared a waste of money.

The Sleepyhead worked for us, incredibly well. DS is six months and we've just moved him into the Sleepyhead Grand. I am going to list his Sleepyhead Deluxe on eBay as they seem to fetch ok money on there and it's good to recoup some of the cost.

I also loved our bedside cot, it made night feeds so easy when I was breast feeding.

I don't know about the Aden and Anais blankets but we were bought a pack of their muslins and they are big, soft and have washed incredibly well. I would spend the extra over the supermarket muslins if I needed more.

We have a Sleepyhead for DS2. Same as you - they weren't around when DS1 was born.

It's bloody brilliant IMO. DS2 settled in it really well from day one. He napped in it as a newborn and looked very cute and cosy in it. At night, he slept in it on the bed next to me, which was great because I could just reach over when I needed to feed him and pop him back in when I was done, without the safety worries of full-on co-sleeping.

At about six weeks we put it in the cot and he sleeps beautifully in it. He's gigantic (in 6-9 months clothes already at 14 weeks) so we've unclipped the bottom and he just sleeps with his feet poking out the bottom. We then just cover him in a cellular blanket and tuck it in securely.

We went away last weekend and took the Sleepyhead with us, and he slept in it on the bed next to me - really easy to transport and he settled in it really well.

When I saw how much they were I was a bit but what swayed me was a review on the John Lewis site that said something like: 'For what it is, it's expensive; for what it does, it's a bargain.' That pretty much sums it up for me. I plan to sell ours on eBay when DS2 outgrows it.

Like I said, DS2 is huge so will outgrow it quicker than most, but suspect a normal-sized baby could get a good 6-8 months out of one.

Best thing I've bought this time round and wish we'd had one for DS1 - he hated his Moses basket!

missmargot had no idea the Sleepyhead Grand existed! Will see how DS2 does in the cot without the regular one but if he struggles will definitely look into the bigger one.

I have had baby DC3 recently and stuck with the old moses basket :) But I did treat myself to a couple of A & A swaddle wraps (not particularly expensive!!). Not only are they great for swaddling (if your baby likes it, which mine didn't really!) but great as a light cover for baby or to put over front of pram when baby's sleeping and they are very pretty so nice to have handy for any kind of baby issue - even mopping up something spilled, sick etc!!!

Most of my other paraphenalia was the same as I used for DD1 nine years previously such as grobags, basic bouncer, baby bjorn, avent bottles, breast pump and microwave steriliser. Even if it wasn't the original I bought similar items. I didn't have my original pram so bought a mountain buggy which has been excellent - and used every day since DD was born over a year ago.

Count I nearly cried with joy when they released the Grand a few months ago. They are clearly priced to take advantage of sleep deprived parents but when DS when two weeks old I would have spend £100 for one hour of uninterrupted sleep so it did seem like a bargain.

He loves the Grand and it's made the transition into his own room and a bigger cot (we have the Stokke Sleepi which we've just extended) relatively painless.

Thanks all... Interesting!

OOOpps just googled Sleepyhead... now I am sorely tempted after saying "I won't get any fancy gadgets, it's just the usual stuff for me..."

Boobs, nappies and a safe place to sleep. That's all you need!

Babies are like weddings. As soon as you mention the word, people want to charge you an obscene amount of money for large amounts of utter nonsense that nobody needs or cares about.

Babies really don't need or want much except warmth, feed and cuddles! :)