Are any of these must haves?

[Flyingchimps]

Hi all,

We have started getting ourselves ready for baby’s arrival and have made most of our significant purchases. We’ve tried to steer clear of gizmos but want to gauge opinion as to wether we have missed the boat on some of them:
*sleepyhead (I don’t really understand what this is for!)
*Next to me (we have a Moses basket and baby box so unsure why we would need this)
*perfect prep/breast pump- I intend to breastfeed so we figured we would just see if that works out first then purchase one or other of these
*ewan/my hummy mummy- again I don’t really understand why we would need one
*video monitor- we figured baby will be in our room to begin with then we can pick up a sound monitor when it goes into its own room.

Would anyone suggest we have really missed the point and should have purchased some of these items. We keep seeing them everywhere! Just looking for opinions I guess!

I wouldn't get the sleepyhead because you don't want to get baby used to sleeping in something which technically isn't safe for unsupervised sleeping so wouldn't be wise for overnight sleeps. Best to get them used to sleeping somewhere safe for naps as well as night time right from the start. If baby then doesn't sleep well you can reconsider because sleep is important but always start off with the most sensible approach as newborns tend to sleep wherever.

Breastpump is the only one of those I got ahead of time and I am glad I got it but I didn't start pumping straight away so didn't need to buy ahead. If you get one with a closed system like a Spectra you can buy second hand and get it cheap - I got a double electric Spectra pump for 50 euros second hand and just bought new flanges and piping for it. Definitely worth getting a pump at some point anyway if you plan on breastfeeding so you can get a break sometimes and to build up a freezer stash in case your supply drops sometimes from illness, or if you need to temporarily take medicine that's not compatible with breastfeeding.

@Natsku thank you for the suggestion of freezing breast milk- I'm about to have my first baby and hadn't even thought of this (or knew it was possible). Are bottles designed to do this? How long does it keep in the freezer and what's the best way to defrost?

You can get pre-sterilised bags for storing the milk (can buy them on amazon, breast milk storage bags) and the milk is good up to 6 months in the freezer so remember to label the milk bags with the date. You can also store in bottles that have a kid, or philips does storage pots that you can sterilise in a microwave steriliser and re-use (and can be used as bottles too). I pump once a day, and use a haakaa to catch extra let down during most feeds and have built a sizeable stash this way. Considering getting another freezer as I'm running out of space!

Lid not kid

Haven't read all the replies, but no you don't need any of those before the baby is born.

See whether you actually have a problem with getting baby to go down to sleep before spending money on sleepyheads or next to me cots. We did end up buying a sleepyhead type cushion, but obviously the ideal situation is that baby will sleep in a cot/Moses on their own without a cushion.

The Ewans and what not are just white noise generator. God send for getting baby to sleep, but you can just download a free app on your phone instead.

I did have a manual breast pump before my DD was born just because it was on offer in Tesco. You can get one delivered so quickly if you decide to express though that I wouldn't bother getting one yet (and the electric ones are expensive if you don't end up using it!).

No need for a baby monitor until they go into their own room. Personally I love having a video monitor though, partly because I can just watch her sleep 😍 and partly because sometimes she just gets up and stands at the side of her cot without making a peep.

Just a note on freezing breast milk. Not all babies will accept defrosted breast milk. I think there is a soapy taste to it for some women, so it might be a waste of time

We used the sleepyhead constantly.
I wish we’d got a cosleeper cot. I will for my second. But a big one, maybe I’ll hack the Ikea cot to make it a big cosleeper

Video monitor very useful - ours broke and we currently have a sound only one and I miss the video! It’s great to check when they stir because you can often tell if they’re really going to get worked up or just having a grumble. Get one with a parent unit that goes in a cradle with rechargeable batteries so you can carry it round and recharge easily.

I would t bother with the perfect prep unless you end up bottle feeding. Ewan - if you want to but a similar item did nothing for ours.

Hi, for me personally:
Don't see the need for a sleepyhead at all. My dc only ever slept upstairs in the crib, then the cot. He was fine in the cot so we didn't need one anyway. I hate Moses baskets and would never ever use one. I didn't see the need to have them sleep downstairs during the day either, I don't like that. We always had a video monitor and checked regularly and it was fine.

Perfect prep is lazy parenting I think. Who needs a machine to make bottles when they can very easily be made by hand? I knew I'd be exclusively formula feeding as I didn't want to try breastfeeding or expressing, but I would never have one anyway. I made them in advance and stored in the fridge.

Video monitor was a MUST for us. Dc was in our room until 16 months because I didn't want to move him. In fact I only did then because I wanted him in a toddler bed, and wanted him to get used to his own room first. But because he slept upstairs during the day, I would not have been without it. We still use ours and will do for a long time yet.