Essential baby buys???

[Gemsie1984]

So I'm almost 12 weeks and starting to think practically about what I'll need for the baby - my youngest is now 9 so I'm completely out of the loop when it comes to essentials..

Can any of you ladies point me in the right direction of things to buy (or not to buy) or things you highly recommend. TY in advance x

SilverCross Wayfarer is brill travel system. V easy to assemble.

A sleepyhead.....but I will be slated for that maybe. But we had a moses basket and a baby box and DS wouldnt sleep in either. We persevered for 2 months before caving and buying a sleepyhead for a next to me crib. As I BF this was a life saver (i also ended up having an emergency cs so i appreciated not having to move much). DS is 7 months now and still sleeps in the sleepyhead.

Muslins
Dribble bibs
Bepanthen
A carrycot for the pram
A carrier (only way you can wee with a newborn)
Loads of stuff banked on tv for days you are attached to baby or days you tell your partner you were!
Schnuggle baby bath
A good bag (think practical not pretty)
Buy newborn and first size sleepsuits and bodysuits -i thought i wouldnt need many but they stay in them longer than you think and newborns poo ALOT. I got job lots off ebay to keep costs down

Best of luck and congrats

Travel:
Sling/Lie flat pushchair
Group 0+/Group 0/1/I-Size car seat

Sleep:
Moses basket/cot/cotbed
Mattress
3x sheets
3x blankets

Feeding:
Boobs
breast pads
Lansinoh
Or
4-6 bottles
Formula
Sterilising equipment

General:
10 Newborn babygrows
10 Newborn vests
2 cardigans
1 hat
Changing mat
Nappies
V-cushion

Personally this is the stuff I classed as essential, anything else was a want. The only non-residential item I bought before #2 was a bath support as I found it so handy with #1.

Oh and we have the Oyster 2 puschair and its fab. Light, folds small, and is exceptionally smooth to push. Carrycot lasted til DS was 4months and he is 97th percentile for height! We use this with a maxi cosi car seat

Oh i second lansinoh for cluster feeding!! And cereal bars and drinks for night snacks for you. I had a basket of stuff for next to the bed with nipple cream, muslin, capri suns, fruit pastilles, cereal bars, night light etc to get through the first few weeks. If your breast feeding that is!

I got a couple of packs of newborn and a couple of packs up to 1 month sleepsuits and vests - baby was tiny and I had to go and get preemie stuff once home from hospital!

I would just get a few bits then dispatch someone to a supermarket to stock up once you know how big your baby is. Or hit Amazon Prime.

I was lucky, we didn’t get much sick or explosive poo so didn’t go through too many changes each day. Each baby is different, you may go through lots!

Not had the baby yet but I'd recommend 2nd hand clothing bundles on ebay for newborn sizes. A lot of what we bought has never been worn due to the baby being too big when it arrived. We think ours will be too but have only spent £20 ish on loads of newborn clothes and if she is too big then the whole lot will go back on ebay for the next baby not to wear.

Thanks so much for all the great ideas and tips! Was thinking of getting some bits second hand, just to keep costs down. Will look about for 0-3 bundle clothes. I'm only 12 weeks so don't know what flavour I'm having yet. Is there a certain washing powder I should be washing baby's clothes in? I've got some fairy non bio but are there other suggestions? Also I suffered terribly with cracked nipples while trying to breastfeed my son. It was so painful and he was a hungry baby so it affected me quite badly. Are there any tips that anyone has regarding this?

The best advice I was given re: sore/cracked nipples was to let them air dry before putting on cream and then add the breastpad and cover back up.

I'm also having a 9 year gap.

Am not bothering with these new things:

Snot sucker - gross and never heard of with DS. Just squirt a bit of breast milk or saline spray up their nose if they get stuffed up.
Sleepy head/pod thing. They look like a massive suffocation hazard to me, I don't trust them
Breastfeeding pillow
Video monitor- sound is fine

Things i used last time I will get again:
Muslins - but lovely colourful ones this time!
Lie flat parent facing buggy (No carrycot, personal preference). Seems harder to find true lie flat this time, but they are around.
Lansinoh nipple cream
Simple clothes - vests and sleepsuits, cardigan, hat, maybe a few t shirts and leggings. Rompers for hot days.
Bouncy chair for baby although only second hand.

New things I'm looking forward to this time:
Better sling - I think there is much more choice around now and even the modern baby Bjorn models are much better than the older ones. Worth researching.
Side lying cot. I had a converted one last time but I am happy to have a properly made one. OTOH if you don't want to co-sleep at all then I think the swaddle and sleeping bag system is really good. I won't be using them as I don't think it's safe when bedsharing.

Lots and lots of lanolin cream for sore nipples - Lansinoh or Boots own version a bit cheaper. Have heard putting breast milk on and letting it air dry is good.

I have the silver cross wayfarer and it’s rubbish up and down curbs. It is my only complaint with it though.

I've got the Mutsy Evo which we found second hand. We also looked at the Cybex Balios S and the Joie Chrome.

I'm also envious of the pretty Cosatto prams you have in the UK! Nothing like that when DS was born. I think the woop is the only one which lies flat without a carrycot but the others all come with carrycots so that doesn't matter so much.

It's really interesting hearing other people's opinions on this thread! I had lots of the stuff listed and ended up getting rid! Agree with most of what yerauntfanny has listed.

Others bits I found suited me and my baby - baby bjorn bouncer, used for when I was in the shower up to about 14 months

• angelcare bath support
• sleeping bags for when no longer swaddling
• side bed, I have a chicco next2me
• rucksack changing bag. I had a different one first but it was heavy and had to carry with baby. Rucksack much better for when little one starts waddling too. Mine was about £15 off amazon and has been totally ace.

The main issue I have is that space is very limited.. when it comes to prams I need something that will fold down quite compact and not take up too much space. Until we move into a bigger place this is just the reality of the situation. I don't really want to be spending silly money on a pram.. I spent £400 on my daughters 10 years ago and it was a monstrosity that was difficult to manoeuvre. I'd rather spend that money on items that will make my life easier in the long run!

We think we're going to go for the Mothercare Journey travel system (subject to it not being too short for 6'1" me and 6'4" husband) which is £300 new

(although I really like the cosatto woop...)

I like the Mothercare Journey but it's £300.. I've seen it advertised cheaper second hand though..

We decided that for £300 we'd buy it new. Money is tight but we feel it's worth it for the guarantee/warranty (although FiL has just very kindly offered to buy a pram for us)

If you can get hold of the Balios S we were really pleased with the fold of that. We have the weensiest car ever so that is important. And I liked that you can get it without a carrycot because I think they take up an inordinate amount of room.

If the parent facing part in the main seat isn't important to you then you have way more options in terms of smallness, though. The baby jogger city mini is supposed to be great and comes with an optional carrycot which isn't too big iirc?

Definitely worth going to a baby show if you get the opportunity as they have great deals on travel systems etc. We got a Nuna Mixx pram, carrycot, car seat and Isofix base for £600 which is much cheaper than it all sells in Mothercare for.