NEWBORN MUST HAVES/ADVICE

[AmandaP86x]

Due my first baby in a couple of weeks just wondering if there's anything you wish you had known or bought that you hadn't when they were born!!xx

A travel mug

Tommee tippee prep machine if your planning to bottle feed at some point! Amazing and so so many Muslin squares

A kindle / e-reader for night feeds. Can turn the pages with one hand and can be used in the dark. Really helped make the wake ups more bearable. Also snacks, lots of snacks.

A baby sleeping bag, keeps mine so warm in this cold weather as mine kicked blankets off she cant so much now with sleeping bag. Mine is from matalan and has poppers under armpits so baby wont sink into it if they wriggle. Onesies with the extra bit on sleeves to turn into mittens - so easy and never falls off. When you can go out, Lots of blankets,hats, a snowsuit is so easy u can chuck them in. good luck xx

Lots of snacks and easy things to do in the first few weeks for while you're feeding - DVDs/Netflix watch list set up, books, crochet or knitting etc. I'm EBF DD and she's 4.5 months now and much better but for the first 8 weeks her feeds were 45 min long every 2 hours so it takes up most of your day.

If you can batch cook and freeze some meals DO IT we had lasagne and curry frozen. BIL sent loads of portions of his amazing mac and cheese also.

We've never used our baby bath. Bath seat was good for the first month but since then she just splashes about in about 2 inches of water and absolutely loves it, or bathes with me.

Have a couple of tiny baby and lots of first size/newborn outfits. DD was 7lb 6oz and a long newborn but still wore tiny for the first week and first size/newborn for the first month. We thought 0-3 would suffice but they were massive on her! Now she's in 6-9m so I miss those days.

Endless muslin clothes as a PP said. You can never have enough.

Best thing we bought was a baby gym (squishy round mat with dangly mobile above) second hand for £7. Shes growing out of it now but it was great for laying her on to get a bit of peace in the early days.

Prepare to spend most of the day in bed or on the sofa early on. Enjoy it but do try to get out even if just for a short walk as you'll feel infinitely better and it is easy to become housebound with a tiny one.

Good luck! It's an incredible journey!

Amazon prime so you don’t have to go shopping when you need something urgently

A load of cheap plastic backed bibs. Mothercare sell about 15 for £5. Get 2 packs they stain yellow quickly and need binning. Yes the pretty colourful ones look cute but milky baby vom soaks through them in seconds.

Perfect prep if you plan to formula feed.

A dummy - you might use it you might not but have one in the house in case you need it. This is from a previous dummy hater!

Onesies with built in hand covers. Don't waste your time or money on scratch mitts which just fall off and get lost in seconds. Plus fussy outfits on newborns are a pain. Onesies that awkwardly do up on the side where you have to manoeuvre one leg out while dealing with an explosive nappy (or if you're lucky a sleeping baby!) are also a pain, get ones that popper straight down the front.

Muslins. Lots of them!

Thermos mug. New mums need hot drinks and you won't get more than a swig of one without one of these.

Lanisoh for your nipples if BF or expressing, it's expensive but a lot goes a long way and it's magic cream.

Mamas and papas do some zip up baby grows - amazing for night time nappy changing. I wish I bought more as poppers take ages when the baby is kicking around.

Perfect prep machine if using formula, lots of bad press but is fantastic and just needs regular cleaning and checking that all the pipes are clear.

I use the perfect prep machine with avent anti colic bottles- great for bringing wind up and stopped my baby crying constantly. (Basically if FF don’t spend much on bottles as you may change them)

Water wipes - expensive for wipes but if your LO gets bad nappy rash like mine, these are great and easier than using water and cotton wool.

Lots of nice books and start young, babies love books that rhyme - also my DD loves the ‘that’s not my’ books and puts her hand out to feel the pages - she’s only 15 weeks old and that’s probably from staring young.

Grow bags are da bomb! Moses baskets are also surprisingly useful even if you already have a cot.

Agree fold over sleeve babygrows. One squlion muslin squares.

Laundry bleach and vanish.

Reading material and don't be surprised if you suddenly want to read chick lit - I did! It's a bit as much as your brain can take in the early days!!

Car seat base - strapping the bloody seat in when recovering from a c sexton was a bitch.

A bag of spare clothes in the car for you! Dd2 puked on me constantly.

Nipple shields. I sent OH out to buy them c. day 4 when I was in agony; only had to use them a handful of times, but they saved breastfeeding for us.

What are muslins used for?

It's different for everyone but my essentials were:

• Lanolish nipple cream
• Lots and lots of snacks and ready meals
• infacol
• growsnug
• foods which stop you being constipated (apricots were my saviour)
• salts for bath, really helped with my sore stitches.

Congratulations and good luck! My DS is 11 weeks so we're just out of the newborn phase now.

My essentials have been:
Sooooo many muslins.
Lansinoh Cream in the early days and now the lansinoh nipple pads.
My pregnancy pillow (B.B. hug me) was stupidly expensive but worth every single penny as it made a great breastfeeding pillow when DS was still small and is so comfy during night feeds now.
People will but you loooooads of clothes so don't buy too much yourselves.
Agree about the sleeping bags, DS would also just kick off blankets.
I bought a huge 2litre water bottle to keep by my bed as I get so thirsty whilst bfing and One glass just doesn't cut it!
Our DS is a stuffy little baby so the shuffle baby drops have been really good along with the nose Frieda sucky.
I bought a baby Bjorn bouncer second hand for £15 (def not worth the £130 new) and DS really likes it and naps in it now.
Amazon prime for last minute things you need ASAP.
And of course patience, chocolate and lots of support (which mn is amazing for)

I'm sure there's much more but my sleep frazzled brain can't think of anything else. Good luck!!

Good hand cream. You will not believe how much hand washing you will do! Body Shop hemp one is good.

Have a changing mat and all the essentials (crate with nappies, bags, wipes, nappy cream, eczema cream if baby needs it, antibac wipes for mat, antibac gel) one upstairs and one downstairs.

Have a similar crate for everything you might need. Painkillers, lansinoh, nipple shields, snacks, water. So everything is within reach.

I hated muslins, didn't find them absorbent at all. I used the white flannels from Ikea, Krama washcloths. My daughter eventually chose a flannel as her comfort object. Not a teddy or a soft toy, a bloody flannel. She still has them now, at nearly 3. A gross soggy flannel that she sucks the corner of. So maybe I shouldn't recommend them!

Amazon prime.

Dry shampoo, for when you haven't showered in 2 days!

For things which you only have one of, but use day and night, get a canvas bag so when you first go downstairs in the morning you can carry it all with you and not have to keep going up and down stairs when you need something. Breast pump, infacol, thermometer etc. Then when you go upstairs for the night take it all with you.

Mam bottles - no need for a steriliser, anti colic (no idea if it really works but my little one didn’t have it).

Perfect prep machine - quick, easy and life saver in the middle of the night!

Purflo nest - my baby slept brilliantly in this from day one. Great if travelling too.

A stretchy sling! Mind has been my absolute saviour since my lo was born 7 weeks ago - he’s happy being so close to me and it leaves me hands free to be able to get things done around the house and get the dog out for a walk easily :)

If I had to choose, the best thing I got was a cloth sling (though if you have a sling library nearby I'd recommend getting when your baby is here). A good supply of meals in the freezer has handy too
Lots of other stuff I found I did - they are each so different I think it's difficult to predict what your essentials will be.

Second hand baby swing. Most small babies (in my experience) will nod off in them for a bit giving you time for a quick shower.

A poddle pod and a perfect prep I didn't have either with my first made so much difference second time around.

M&S bundlers - a god send in the early days, makes nappy changing a doddle with no baby grow poppers to worry about! Especially good for quick night time changes.