Buying for baby - What do you swear by?

[Edelweiss2020]

Okay so I’m feeling rather overwhelmed by looking at stuff for baby and there’s sooooo many different products and gadgets out there. Obviously I know you technically only ‘need’ basics so place for baby to sleep, clothes, car seat, pram etc but what things are really useful and what stuff isn’t worth it?

Seeing things like baby swings and bouncers etc all the time on baby buy and sell groups - are they unnecessary or just outgrown really fast?

Only 14+2 so obviously have a lot of time to buy and figure stuff out but please help my overwhelmed brain out!

Congratulations OP! Best thing I ever bought was a fabric sling. I have an Amawrap in black and I've worn it with both my children.

My baby Bjorn bouncer was so good we even bought a spare cover for when he shit through it (surprisingly often).

Worth the expense.

For me, the perfect prep machine was an essential. After a few months, there are a bunch of different types of large rubber baby mats, I find mine invaluable.

A Stoke trip trapp chair is also great and meant DH and I could eat dinner together sometimes.

Probably not the sort of thing you’re looking for but always have a steady supply of metanium nappy cream.

Congratulations! We swear by the prep machine as well. Only a few mins to a perfect temperature bottle. Life saver for night feeds!

One thing I did learn as well and if we have another one, to buy a next to me crib rather than a Moses basket for upstairs. I found that my baby would settle if I held her hand which is difficult with Moses basket. You might want a Moses basket for downstairs though for day time or we sometimes used the carry cot from the pram.

Maybe two bouncer chairs so don't have to keep carrying them up and down. We didn't buy two, we got given them as presents but realised two works well.

Congrats again. If I think of anything else I'll post again

Muslins, lots and lots of muslins, they do everything from cleaning up spit up to comforting to working as a burp cloth and wiping snotty noses.
I had a mama roo electric bouncy chair which I honestly couldn't have done without for either of my 2, it was great for their day naps when they were little
Other than those a prep machine if bottle feeding (yes possibly controversial but well worth the pennies). Most other things I could do without

I second the baby bjorn bouncer.

Also the clips for the pram that meant I could pop the car seat onto the pram base when nipping to the shops.

Star blanket for wearing in the car seat

A baby sensory box from Amazon of things like shiny foil material, bubbles, rattle, rainbow ribbon ring, chiffon scarves, bells, feather, light thing. It's been used for hours every day (baby now 6m old)

An app called baby tracker to track feeds/nappies/sleep as my head was/is mush and I can't remember the last time I fed/which side etc

Next to me cot (we have snuz pod)

A little bag within my changing bag with the nappies/changing mat/bags/wipes etc, so I can just grab it out the changing bag and everything's there. A second little bag (large makeup bag) of spare clothes.

Lanisoh for the early weeks breast feeding.

Decent nursing bras (recommend hot milk) and plenty of nursing camis - H&M or Aldi are where mine are from. Also ASOS and new look I think.

Lanisoh disposable breast pads for the early weeks

Don't go for an expensive bouncer - I had one from when we had DS and he hated it, new baby not happy in it either. DD is 11 weeks, I bought a cheapo bouncer off Amazon to keep upstairs for when I'm in the shower (it was £15) and she's MUCH happier in that and will happily sit in it so have bought another for downstairs.

One thing I've invested in this time that I didn't with DS are reusable wipes - they're so easy to use and much kinder on her bum, she's more sensitive than DS. I haven't gone down the nappy route as I struggle to keep up with the washing as it is 😂

My big tip when buying clothes is to think about how the season will correspond to the age of the baby. For instance someone bought DD the most beautiful summer outfit age 6-9 months but it was winter when it fit her, so she only wore it once in spring cos I couldn't bear to miss out completely.. So plan accordingly if possible and stick to smple baby grows when they're tiny cos they do for all occasions. Anything else is too much faff.

Perfect prep machines and sleep pods dont fit with NHS safety guidelines , do your research before buying so that you know you have made an informed choice. Also cot bumpers.

A swing was a must we had a joie serina swivel swing, baby loved it, a next 2 me crib, a play mat for tummy time, we have Tommy tippie nappy bins (no ones got time to be running Shiite nappy's out to the big bin at 1am) we have one for nursery one downstairs

Cloth nappies (less poo leaks, cheaper, cuter, eco etc)

Shit tonne of muslins (also doubt as nappies)

Cloth wipes (waaaaay cheaper than disposable and grip poo better)

Wrap over vests from H&M, had these from newborn till the last size/early potty training (Lindex also do them and are very nice) and leggings (lindex and H&M run "big" as they have space for a big cloth nappy)

Carriers, yes plural stretchy wrap, ring sling and soft structured (nothing like an ergo or babybjorn though)

Coat that fits over you and baby

Bouncer was used till her first birthday but DD is tiny, went on her highchair too which was nice.

Clips for hanging things off the pram.

Amazon prime! We went with a minimalist approach prior to her arrival have bought everything else next day delivery with amazon, argos etc.

Cloth nappies!! We have done muslins and wraps and love them she's still using them at 17 weeks although we are starting to add birth to potty options too.

Cloth wipes!! We have a cheeky wipes set (must be the cotton/bamboo the microfibre ones can't be used on bums) and a muslinZ set for nappy changes and a set from the nappy lady which have fleece on one side and terrys toweling on the other which we use for bath time and will use for hands and face once we start weaning

Reuseable breastpads - I would use disposables for a few days and order once your milk has come in. How much you leaks is person dependent, I underestimated how leaky I would be so ended up buying two sets. I ended up with XL bamboo pads with a waterproof pul backing which are great!

Cloth sanitary pads for post partum bleed, they are so much more comfortable. For the first 12h I used disposables and then switched and I will never use a disposable pad again!

I have a tote bag that I use to carry various paraphernalia with me from one room to the next so I have one arm free for baby and the other to carry a cup of tea

Before buying anything new look on ebay or other 2nd sales we have picked up so many bargains - a travel cot for £7 like new, an infantino sling new with damaged box £17, caboo sling £10, breastfeeding pillow £8, pram £100. You wouldn't know any of it had been used before

Perfect prep machine!
MAM bottles and the glow in the dark mam dummies (life saver)

An expensive one but I swear by my cosatto noodle 0+ high chair.

Perfect prep machine and electric steriliser.
Decent buggy with good storage basket underneath.
Lots of muslins
Amazon Prime, Netflix and now TV subscriptions
IKEA Antilop highchair for weaning

We brought new bouncer and jumperoo but in hindsight should have brought second hand as DD wasn't a fan, hopefully new baby will enjoy them a bit more!

Things I would recommend are:

Mamaroo bouncer - my LB loved loved this and gave me a second to get a shower etc, worth the hefty price tag in my opinion

Ziper sleepsuits - absolutely hated the button ones and getting them mixed up when u r changing them through the night

Muslins - lots of them too! Great for so many things

If breastfeeding, lansinoh nipple cream and lansinoh breastpads. Also good proper nursing bras or vests. I took me ages to find good ones. The best vest I got was from jojo maman bebe.

If formula feeding - prefect prep machine. I moved to formula when my LO was 8 months. It was great. I would not recommend tommee tippee bottles though and haven't worked for any babies in my family.

Snuzpod or similar bedside cot. Lasts longer than a moses basket.

White noise machine - we used a ewan the dream sheep and was great at soothing the LO

If you are going to use formula a perfect prep machine and electric steriliser are great.

Baby bouncy chair with a toy bar and vibration. The cheap ones are just as good.

A sling

Perfect Prep machine
Clips to hold blanket onto pram
Straps to hold toys to pram
Glow in the dark dummies- invented by an absolute GENIUS

Figure out the maximum amount of muslins you might need for the most refluxy baby ever for a whole week, and at least double that.

Baby nightgowns. So much easier than having to fiddle with poppers when your half asleep!

I would honestly say just get the basics to start with if you can. We wasted so much money as my baby wouldn't sleep in a cot / or the expensive "next to me" crib!! So I wish I'd just bought a cheap Moses basket and given that a go first - I know lots of babies don't like them but atleast they're not expensive.

My top tip would be to start stockpiling food in your freezer towards the end of your pregnancy - easy quick meals you can have when the baby is here. We just used to make extra and freeze some it was an absolute life safer in the early weeks.

I have 3 and really I've had different 'essentials' for each. Essentials for all 3:
Sling
Bouncer
High chair with newborn attachment
Lansinoh, bamboo breast pads and sleep bra (like a crop top)
Baby sleeping bag
Blankets
Cotton hats (mine were all baldies well past 1 though!)
Nappy changing bag/boxes- one upstairs, one downstairs.

Other 'essentials' for at least one baby:
Sleep pod, Moses basket, dummy, Muslins, perfect prep.

I found clothes, other than a few essentials, easier to buy once baby arrived as they were all different shapes and sizes. E.g. DD1 always wore sleep suits but DD2 and DC3 wore vest and soft trousers instead. DD1 was a very chubby baby so trousers always looked uncomfortable for her whereas DD2 and DC3 were very long and thin and babygrows long enough on the leg swamped them in the middle!

The only non essential ‘essential’ for me was a bouncy chair. Both my two loved them and I can’t imagine not having one for our third.

Don't bother with a Moses basket upstairs, we had one for DD but she grew out of it so quickly that we're just going straight into a cot with our next one.

Definitely get a prep machine if using formula! We did the old fashioned boil the kettle then cool it down s**t for a few weeks then got a prep machine and never looked back!
A bouncy chair that either swings or vibrates as when baby is little it saves your poor arms bouncing them! 😂
IKEA high chair! £12! It's super easy to assemble, light weight and can be cleaned in 1 minute!