What do I need for baby #2?

[crispychicken12]

Hi,

Currently 22 weeks with DS2, quite lucky in that DS1 is only 18 months so I have a lot of his stuff still. This is what I currently have for the new baby:

Bath seat
Next 2me crib for first few months
Moses basket for down stairs
3 different bouncers/rockers
Various toys

I have lots of DS1 clothes, he was a huge baby. This baby is due in summer and could be smaller, so I'll need a few vests etc.

But my main reason for asking is, I'm formula feeding and expressing and feeding the new baby (after a traumatic underweight experience with DS1)

I've never formula fed a newborn, I have a steriliser but would rather buy new as it wasn't doing as great as it should the last few times I used it.

What bottles are recommended? I used tommee tippee first time around.

Also, can anyone recommend a good sling or baby holder (whatever they're called) as we will be keen to use one this time

Any help is much appreciated. I'm very keen to start getting organised x

I used MAM bottles and their amazing, self sterilise in microwave so no need for a steriliser.

For a sling see if you have a library near by to try a few out. I like our Tulua sling but don’t the basic version.

I breastfed to 6 months then switched to formula - can’t recommend the perfect prep machine enough! Lifesaver!

We used Minbie bottles for expressed milk (supposed to be close to nipple)

I’m terrible with the fabric sling things - cannot master them! We had baby bjorn one and it was great! X

I’m combi feeding and got MAM bottles as they self sterilise in the microwave (also combi feeding due to awful weight related issues with first)

Get a perfect prep machine - lifesaver!

I’ve got a woven ring sling, boba wrap and mountain buggy juno buckle carrier. My first loved slings, this baby isn’t so keen 😭 recommend getting in touch with your local sling library!

We had a stretchy wrap sling for the newborn days. We got a Lifft one purely because it had the lowest minimum weight and I wanted to be able to use it straight away but if you're getting a straightforward stretchy wrap I suspect they're all much of a muchness. We now have an Ergobaby Omni 360 - pricy but used multiple times daily so worth every penny for us. We find it really comfy even as she gets heavier. It can be used from newborn but she looked comfier in the wrap when tiny so I'm glad we had both. (Should add, she actually hated being in the sling until she reached about four months and was able to/interested in looking around, and now she actively enjoys it. This was a bit of a shock to us as we thought all babies were meant to love them - so if you get a sling-hater don't despair, they might well grow into it and I find it so useful now I'm glad we persisted).

Another fan of the mam self sterilising bottles here. Saved the space a seperate steriliser would have taken up in my small kitchen. I had 2 perfect prep machines for the first couple of months - 1 in the kitchen and the other in the baby's room so saved going downstairs in the middle of the night.

Definetly will be looking into the perfect prep machine, seems like it will be a big help!! Thanks so much for all the replies, I thought I'd be perfectly organised second time round but baby brain has hit hard, Ive forgot half of what I need

I've got the mam bottles this time but have had avent and tommee tippee ones before.
We buy a mix of powder and ready made formula, still undecided on the PP machine. We have used the pre-making powdered formula method for all our other children and although it tends to be frowned upon these days will most likely do that occasionally for this one too. I have a couple of boxes of the C&G ready made bottles with individual teats for the hospital too, they were fab for our twins. Got a bottle of infacol in just in case too.

Totally recommend the perfect prep - used it for our son (now 16months) honestly don’t actually know how to make a bottle the ‘traditional’ way 🙊 we had one in our house and my in laws (second hand it was my sisters old one, along with 2 bottles and some of the microwave steriliser bags) so anytime we went down to them we didn’t need to bring anything bottle wise with us. Keep an eye out for the prime day deals on amazon (if you have time before the baby arrives!) we got a huge discount on ours

Perfect prep machine is not recommended because it can't guarantee to kill all bacteria in the formula - so perhaps especially important in the newborn stage to be mindful xx

For slings I loved our close caboo for the early days!

Ergobaby omni 360. Great carrier!

Mam self sterilising bottles. Got myself a Tula Explore too as eldest will be 18 months when baby arrives.

Sorry to hijack OP but for those with omni 360 @Etherealhedgehog & @EmbarrassingMama can you fit the shoulder straps under a coat? Just deciding on a new sling and it looks much bulkier than my existing one. The straps look comfy but really thick and am not sure if they will fit inside a coat/jacket
Many thanks

@TangBloodyFastic yep I do put a coat over - it does feel a bit bulky but works fine. And we use it daily and DP and I both find it really comfortable - would definitely recommend.