essentials

[taylz12]

Hey girls,

Is there anything you mums would recommend to a very soon mum-to-be to definitely have for their newborn?

Like this there anything's in particular that really really helped you along the way or things you had or found easier?

Please let me know!

Thank you!

Isofix car seat and a travel system where the car seat can be attached.
Moses basket for up stairs and downstairs (saves carrying it up).
I used a tommee tippee prep machine with first DD, will not be this time but it was a good help.

Shnuggle baby bath and a changing table downstairs.

Can I jump on this thread!!!!!!!!

first baby and its turned out to be twins so no idea what I need!

In addition to things already mentioned:

• plenty of baby gro’s/sleepsuits etc. in the size you expect baby to be and also the next size up (they’ll grow into them quickly enough and the larger ones can be emergency spares so you don’t worry about running out)

• reusable wipes! So much more efficient than disposable ones. Don’t need to bother with the storage system boxes etc. either. Keep a stack of dry ones and wet as you need (never needed more than a couple even to deal with the worst messes). Then get a decent wet bag to store the dirty ones. When it’s time to wash, just open the zip and bung the bag in with the rest of baby’s things - the spin of the washing machine is enough to get the wipes out of the bag so need to handle dirty wipes directly!

Loads of vests, sleepsuits, bibs and muslin's. Definitely moses basket for downstairs unless it's easy enough for you to use the carrycot part of pram. A few cellular blankets. Perfect prep machine. Hundreds of nappies and wipes! Stock up whenever you see them on offer. Tommee tippee milk powder dispensers are brilliant to take out they fit inside the bottles (I'm sure other brands will do ones to suit) I would say an isofix as well to make getting in and out of the car easier I would get one if I could afford to. Munchkin car mirror, fits to the head rest so you can see baby when driving, I never knew about them but my sister got me one in first pregnancy it's brilliant, daughter is 3 and still has it to look at herself, will be getting another for next baby!

Grosnugs
Shnuggle bath
V shaped/ feeding pillow
Weleda Chamomilla granules
Nasal aspirator (snot sucker!)

Gonna jump on here! First baby due 1st January and starting to feel a little overwhelmed!!

I loved my baby carrier - baby HATED being put down, put pop her in a carrier (we used a Close Caboo up till about 4 or 5 months) and she'd sleep happily while I had hands free to tidy up and make lunch.

I breastfed and loved the Boppy pillow in the early days to get positioning right and save my arms a bit. Lanolin cream for nips and washable bamboo breastpads (so soft!) were also a hit.

Once baby was big enough for sleeping bags (8lbs13 is the guide weight) I found them much easier than blankets for bedtime and baby seemed snug and happy.

Other bedtime must have for us was white noise (surprisingly loud), helped her switch off and stay asleep. Husband and I slept really well with it too!

Following for ideas!

Steriliser and bottle set
Baby bouncer/rocker
Playmat
A billion babygrows/sleepsuits/nappies
Moses basket
Sleeping bag
Socks
Muslin cloths
Car seat
Baby wipes
Scratch mits

Lavender oil and tea tree oil - mix with milk and pour in the bath. This is for you, NOT for baby's bath. Really helped my episiotomy heal up after the birth...

For baby: cut up towel to go on her changing mat so it the coldness didn't make her cry. Hot water bottle for her Moses basket: pop it in while I was feeding her so it didn't get cold when I put her back in (obviously, take it out when she was in it). More muslins than you could possibly need. various nappy sizes (she was size zero for at least 10 days, despite being born at 40+5...).

Haaka pump for breastfeeding (far more convenient once established than bottle feeding).

Yes to the haaka or equivalent, plus lanolin and super soft breast pads if you're breast feeding.

Muslims - get some colourful ones so you know which ones are yours when you're out.

More importantly, get some giant ones for swaddling and spend an hour on YouTube learning how to do it. If your baby doesn't like to be sealed, 90% of the time it's because you're not doing it right, and it's usually too loose across the tummy. Being able to swaddle properly is a godsend.

Get yourself a Thermos flask. It's the only way your having a hot drink this year.

Oh and a sling. I bloody love a sling. (So does DD, more to the point.) It gives you so much freedom while they feel totally secure. Get to a sling library of you can so you can see what works for you.

Swaddled, not sealed. I don't know how you seal a baby.