what to buy/avoid buying for a baby

[nappyaddict]

i wish someone had told me the golden list when i was pregnant so here goes .. well my version anyway. feel free to add your own items!!

things i couldn't live without:

WIPE CLEAN changing mat
sling
bouncer (one with the sturdier legs as opposed to the thin wire legs as they grow out of those quite quickly because the material droops with the weight and they end up virtually on the floor!!)
baby gym
pushchair with a carrycot
swinging crib
cot bed
v cushion
push along walker
lots of stair gates to make huge play pens
booster high chair seat
baby cutlery that changes colour when the right temperature
doidy cup
avent magic cup/tommee tippee easiflow cup/normal sippy cup but take valve out
insect net for cot/pram
fire guard
always fancied one of those dream movers when pregnant, but they are soooo expensive!!
travel sleeping bags
swaddle blankets
lots and lots of cot sheets and blankets
cot bumper (to stop baby getting stuck between bars!!)
dreamshow thingy
cot mobile
walkabout baby monitor with room thermometer and talk back so you can ask dp to bring you things when he has gone upstairs to check on baby!!ones that play lullabys are quite good too.
respisense breathing monitor (but i am over cautious cos my brother died of SADs)
dimmer switch - have you tried to put a sleeping baby to bed in the pitch black and you cant put the light on cos its brighter than blackpool illuminations?
books - to tilt the cot when baby has a cold
sleepcurve mattress
vicks vaporiser
tomy aromatherapy soother - found this great for calming ds down before bed.
prince lionheart slumber bear
top and tail bowl
nappy stacker, cot tidy helps save space in drawers and wardrobes.
fisher price cot piano and various cot toys keep
my ds amused in the morning when i want to get things done upstairs
nice toy boxes you don't mind being on show in your living room
drawer tidy for keeping little socks and hats and gloves etc in
net for washing machine for above items
car blinds if your car doesn't have them built in
UV sun shade
pram/car seat toys
day to night bottle warmer
cool bag for bottles and ice packs(an ordinary one will do)
electric breast pump if breast feeding
bottle brush, rack for drying bottles on, silicone orthodontic variable flow teats if bottle feading
dummies if using them, with covers (the silicone ones last longest and the flat teats are best)
tiny scratch mitts
bootees so socks don't fall off
snow suits
changing bag (and don't forget the obligatory carrier bag for all the wet bibs and clothes you will collect)
vegetable steamer
ear thermometer (i have the nurofen one that plays music)
comb if your baby has masses of hair like mine (i just use an ordinary one for 15p as opposed to some stupidly priced baby one. wouldn't bother with a brush as babies hair is generally too fine)
cotton wool
baby bath, baby shampoo, drapolene nappy cream
bath thermometer

things not to bother with :

don't bother with the matching nursery furniture and wallpaper. just buy ordinary chest of drawers, wardrobe, bedside table etc, paint the walls in whatever colour you fancy and buy accessories to make it look nice for a baby, then change accessories as child grows up - does anyone like decorating? much easier this way!!
pram/moses basket sheets - just use normal ones
baby toiletries other than the 2 mentioned above
anything that is meant to stick on to a high chair
blender - do baby led weaning
sun parasol
changing table
baby bath
bath support
moses basket
cat net
electric swing
baby walker, exersaucer, door bouncer
play nest
play pen
proper high chair
baby toiletry box
baby scissors
buying a standard sized cot - mine wriggled so much it wasn't big enough after a few months!

sorry this was meant to be a short list but i kept thinking of things to add. hope this helps at least a few of you out there!

I know this sounds a bit gross but a small plastic jug was invaluable for pouring warm water over my bits every time I had a wee - otherwise it really stung.

baby bath just did my back in more, lifting it about, sink is just fine. I wouldn't bother with a moses basket and go straight for cot. I certainly wouldn't bother with half the stuff nappy addict listed.. is it viral marketing from mothercare ?! Baby Gym especially i found useless, would definitely get a doughnut type ring one tho.

I would bother with decent on the move things, stuff to keep bottle cool and a compact change bag. Absolutlely need a breast pump and have some formula milk in just in case there are any problems.

One last thing I absolutely couldn't have done without is a papouse, i bought it after my baby was born and tried for size, the one i bought before was no good. I got a tomy one and it was great, most importantly easy to fit when i'm on my own.

From Birth and Beyond is a terrific book that i couldn't have done without from pregnancy onwards. Superb information and guidance - definitely a better source of advice than my mother!

I loved my baby bath, nappy wrapper thing and moses basket (but had a cot bed, so dd went in moses basket for first 2 or 3 months)

And if it'd been around then, I'd have used a Baby Feed Wheel as well

The best thing I bought was one of those plastic bibs that catch the sick!

Invaluable-grobags

Nightmare-anything plasticky and toy related that has a battery plays a tune and has flashing lights.After hearing it several hundred times you WILL remove the batteries and consign it to the back of the cupboard/charity shop and never purchase anything similar again.

For nightime I think that the long nightie type things are great. there's a drawstring at the bottom so baby can kick and wriggle but stay warm. When they poo in the night there's minimal disruption to baby because you're not trying to do 1000s of poppers up and getting it wrong and putting legs back in etc. Brilliant. I got some lovely ones from Boots. Also, they don't grow out of them as quickly as babygros.

Best thing ever for us was the cot top changer. dd is 16 mths now and we used it with ds up untill he went into a toddler bed. No back breaking with one of those. Loved our moses basket. Muslin squares. And electric swing was a godsend, I have lent it out to 3 friends since we had it and all their babies loved it too. Tommytippee non spill cup, absolutly fab, don't bother with any of the others. bed side bottle warmer. Oh and one of those powder pots so you don't have to make up bottle until you need it.

Worse things bought were. Play gym, Bouncy chair, teething rings. Dummy's with dd as she turned out to be a thumb sucker and wouldn't let a dummy anywhere nr her. Breast pump.

moomin, out of interest, which cot top changer did you have? I'm looking to buy one for baby due in December, we had one of those changing tables with bath from m/care 1st time round, but a changer seems a much better & cheaper idea!

Cool combined furniture is great. Our ds' dresser is a changing table, when he out grows it, we just flip the top up and it looks like a normal dresser. Functional and a space saver.

Huggy bed, as we call it, sturdy type that can lay flat or adjust to sitting position. Never had the need for a high chair with one of those.

Electric pump if expressing.

Didn't buy a bath - used our bath and then a support thing to lay in from about 6 weeks

Gro-bag for bedtime rather than blankets

I am a bit worried about putting a baby in a BEANBAG cos it could sufforcate them

Also agree loads of MUSLIN SQUARES

A remote controled musicial cot thingy with rainwater or forest sounds -- So you don't wake baby up when sound stops just press remote control it is deffo brill it klso has a button for the baby to push to get lights or music out of when they are older

moses basket was fab for us but dd1 was ditty and so stayed in hers until she was over 8 months old!

grobags are fab - used them for two and now ready for no3 to use them ( hopefully is a girl though the bigger ones are rather pink!)

ditto the pillowcase for sheets on moses basket.

Beanbags are high on the not to buy list - very unsafe according to researchers.

loved top and tail bowl - but then dd1 did not have a proper bath for months - just topped and tailed her - helpful for babies who say like dd1 had ng tube and apnoea monitors attached. Used it with dd2 in the summer to cool her down. Other than that - sling thing in the family bath.

change table - did not have one with dd1 but have one with dd2 - love it.

found for newborns - sunshade - muslin cloth attached by peg to sunvisor thing on pram - worked well.

again - galt playnest was fab for us - dd1 had low muscle tone so as she was able to support herself - able to build muscle tone - she loved it and you would regularly hear the arch part getting a work out.

funny how some kids and mums love some things and others hate them.

accesorizequeen - I actually bought ours in John Lewis it was about £35, it is white though as our cot is white. If you go on down this threas, someone else has put a lonk onto the babiesRus website as it looks like you can get them in there now too. They are not easy to come across but e-bay often have a few. It is very good, sturddy, easy, space saving, and the other thing I hold a comfort to is that "shoukd they fall off, they'll only fall into their bed, (not that mine have or they should, but things do happen IYKWIM)

Sorry for the typos, I meant to preview but hit post instead, It was supposed to be "go on down this thread" and "a link onto". Then ignor the sp please. durrrr!

The only things on nappyadicts "essential" list that I have even USED are:

baby gym
booster high chair seat
fire guard
cot sheets and blankets
walkabout baby monitor
dimmer switch
car blinds
electric breast pump
cotton wool

.....but then I have lots of kids so not so much room for "stuff"!!!! As others have said, it just shows how different we all are

chocolate kimmy what is a huggy bed?

Hi. Am 13weeks pregnant - first timer to pregnancy and mumsnet. All these lists are freaking me out although very helpful too. A related question - when is a good time to start buying this lot. Am chomping at the bit to go spending, but feel I should hold my horses!

Moomimin, thanks a lot - forgot to check my watched threads for a while! Will definitely buy one, best get on with it as due in 4 weeks!

Hi there
What about what to buy/avoid buying for a newborn CLOTHES WISE? I am a confused first time Mum to be ... have just bought a pack of long sleeved bodysuits (due April) but now wondering, what will LO wear on her legs?! Would it have been better to buy all in ones/baby grows instead?? Help!

Thanks

Doghouse- don't worry, the long sleeved bodysuits will be used and you can buy some babygrows as well (they are essential for babies after all). There is nothing wrong with having a variety of things to dress babies in depending on where you are (indoors/out) and what the weather is like etc etc. so don't worry too much!!

I forgot to add- avoid buying little outfits (you know, trousers, skirts, dresses) for newborns as they are awkward for a baby who's always lying down and babygrows are far more practical. They grow out of them too fast to get much wear either and you will be given some as presents anyway so spend the money on other stuff!

Hope that helps.

Would second Rosie's comments and add that I always thought newborns look uncomfortable in stuff with waists, so reckon dungarees are pretty good, but its essential they have poppers on the legs or it's a pain for nappy changing. When they're a bit bigger I found trousers or leggings with feet incorporated were good, as normal trousers ride halfway up the legs as soon as you pick them up.

Thats a huge list of essentials. My list of essentials for dd (now 7 months) were:
playnest - she was happy if she could see me as I bumbled about
travel cot - great when going out for meals at friends houses, but tbh we have used a drawer defore which worked well
plastic wipe down changing mat
pram where they can lie flat
Washing machine

Everything else we could have managed without