New baby wish list!

[Clairejessica123]

I made a list of essentials as this is our first baby. We are lucky that we have family members buying a lot of the large items. We are not wanting to waste money as I know there are a lot of gimmicks about but we are thinking about buying a couple of items that may make our lives a little easier? Any recommendations?

Lots of bibs and Muslim squares. Microwave steriliser if you are bottle feeding. If you are planning on breastfeeding get some ready made formular and a couple of bottles just in case it doesn't work out ( so glad I did!) I used a bouncy chair a lot, handy to have somewhere to put the baby down whilst cooking/cleaning. Also found little hooded towels handy. You are right, a lot of things are gimmicks and you don't need them.

We kept things simple too and I'm glad I didn't give in to the gimmicks. They grow so quickly and it's just a constant exercise in clearing things out for the first year!

I do wish I'd had a side sleeper cot though. They don't fit in a moses basket for long and much prefer to sleep right next to you anyway, so a side sleeper would have allowed for so much more rest for night feeds/wakings.

A sling was another thing I found to be surprisingly essential that I hadn't even considered beforehand. It makes your life so much easier for the first few months.

I used a bouncy chair a lot too, I have a lot of photos of DS sleeping in his when he was tiny!

Agree with lots of muslins. It's worth getting better quality ones as you will wash them SO MUCH! John Lewis did brilliant ones a couple of years ago, not sure about now.

I'd just buy stuff as you go and see what the baby likes.
Things that others can't do without might be useless for you e.g. I've never got DS to go in a bouncy chair for more than a few minutes without screaming but for others it's the best thing ever. It really depends on the baby.
For us, a soft wrappy sling for round the house was great, but I had a Velcro baby! We also loved the tummy tub. But both of those things I've seen people on mn find useless so it just depends.
A white noise app on your phone is great for getting ours to sleep (free)

Agree that buying a lot up front might prove a bit of a waste. Lots will work for you but not others and vice versa.
For example, my DS is 2 and still sits in his baby bath most nights for a wash. Many people don't even bother buying one and find them useless.
Blankets, muslin, car seat (if you drive) and somewhere to sleep plus some clothes and nappies are the only real essentials. Could you ask people for an iou. You may find you want a bouncer, playmat, highchair etc etc as you go