Baby must haves and regret buys...

[staycalmmama]

Mine had to be a baby double food steamer / blender. Took up so much space when could've used a pan and hand blender!

On to dc3 and realised how much they don't actually need.

What are your regret buys and must haves for baby?

@devildeepbluesea

Must haves: sling.

Regret: pram. Literally didn’t use it even once. DD went straight from car seat or sling to a buggy.

The invention of the Doona, wish they had it with my other 2. Haven't felt the need to get a pram this time round!

Regret: pram. Took it out once, never used it again.

Must have: baby carrier. The opposite of the above poster as I have winter babies! Must have. You put the carrier on before the coat. So warm and snug and cosy, lovely memories of feeding on the go round Christmas lights trails and markets. Babies never needed a winter coat either.

Regret: pushchair. Thought it would be easier than the pram. Turns out it wasn’t and we hated that too.

Must have: Reusable nappies. Utterly brilliant.

Regret: Dummies. Bastard things.

Must have: bouncy chair, all mine loved that.

@PiesNotGuys Good to see another cloth user here! :D

We were pretty careful, bought minimally and got lots second hand - not clothes so much but travel system, furniture etc. only thing I felt was really a waste was a snowsuit I bought for my September born baby in 0-3 months, it was never cold enough for him to wear it and by the time it was, he’d grown out of it. They also saw me coming when I bought baby pasta

Perfect prep was a good buy although not essential, I didn’t have one for my first.

Didn’t find there were many essentials tbh.

How many 0-3 clothes do you think is ideal? Really don't want to overbuy but worry I've not got enough. Was planing on getting more as when needed.

I think you can end up thinking (and I was guilty of this as well!) that you need everything before the baby is born. But shops and next day delivery exist so it doesn’t matter if you’re missing stuff. And people will buy you clothes. If anyone tells you they want to buy your baby a gift and asks what you want, I’d recommend saying 3-6 month clothes (or even 6-9). You’ll have loads of 0-3, and it’s nice having something to grow in to.

My must have is the sleeping bags that hold their arms in. DD slept so well in them - may have been a fluke of course, we’ll find out soon when DD2 is born!
A white noise machine also worked really well for us.

I don’t have any specific regrets, the crib downstairs for naps was a waste of money because she never slept in it, but I know so many people who did use their cribs for naps that I wouldn’t really recommend against it.
I’d say anything that is sold as a “baby …” but that really you can just get another version of. For example, “baby bath towels” are just more expensive small towels. “Baby food pots” are just more expensive little plastic food tubs you can buy for pennies at ikea. The other day I saw a specific jug being sold (£8!) to pour water over your baby’s head in the bath. It’s just a jug, buy a cheap plastic jug for a fraction of the price!

Need: sleepyhead / babynest / etc. Would not sleep for longer than 10 minutes until I borrowed one in desperation.

Waste: matching nursery furniture. Now stuck with a small wardrobe that doesn’t fit regular clothes properly. Babies’ clothes don’t need to be hung up!

Sling. I loved it. My daughter loved it.

@SickAndTiredAgain

How many 0-3 clothes do you think is ideal? Really don't want to overbuy but worry I've not got enough. Was planing on getting more as when needed.

I think you can end up thinking (and I was guilty of this as well!) that you need everything before the baby is born. But shops and next day delivery exist so it doesn’t matter if you’re missing stuff. And people will buy you clothes. If anyone tells you they want to buy your baby a gift and asks what you want, I’d recommend saying 3-6 month clothes (or even 6-9). You’ll have loads of 0-3, and it’s nice having something to grow in to.

My must have is the sleeping bags that hold their arms in. DD slept so well in them - may have been a fluke of course, we’ll find out soon when DD2 is born!
A white noise machine also worked really well for us.

I don’t have any specific regrets, the crib downstairs for naps was a waste of money because she never slept in it, but I know so many people who did use their cribs for naps that I wouldn’t really recommend against it.
I’d say anything that is sold as a “baby …” but that really you can just get another version of. For example, “baby bath towels” are just more expensive small towels. “Baby food pots” are just more expensive little plastic food tubs you can buy for pennies at ikea. The other day I saw a specific jug being sold (£8!) to pour water over your baby’s head in the bath. It’s just a jug, buy a cheap plastic jug for a fraction of the price!

I just bought the Tommee tippee grobag this week that has studs to keep their arms in so hopefully that works for us too.

I know what you mean about "baby products" wasn't sure I needed a changing bag so bought a normal backpack from tkmaxx that I could use after baby.

I did splurge on a cuddledry towel that I had for both dc not sure it was worth £40, quality doesn't seem the same anymore.

Must haves - the playpen. DT’s got use to it from the start. Kept them away from the dog and safe when I nipped to the loo, kitchen etc.

waste of money - changing table - rarely used it. Just changed nappies in which ever room we were in.

Must haves

Baby brezza, its brilliant, easy and really fast, I miss it a lot if we go away for the weekend, even if we take a perfect prep.
Sling/carrier, our daughter sleeps beautifully on us, so it means we can get things done, go for a walk etc without disturbing her.
Swaddle up sleep bags, she will only sleep ‘alone’ in these, without one she frequently wakes herself up.

Must nots
Muslins, as we just haven’t needed them as she doesn’t vomit/spit up, but I’n sure they’ll become handy when teething starts.
Baby bath, we haven’t used it, so it just stores a random collection of things in the bathroom.

I heard you should have 8 sets out clothes for newborn size, and honestly you will get the majority of those as gifts for the first 6 months

Must have:

• my Ergobaby 360, used solidly for two years and counting by DC1.
• maternity and baby wearing coat so that me and baby are all snuggly together and no need for baby to wear their own coat
• cloth nappies

Waste of money

• bedside cot
• cot bed
• pram/buggy

All of the above three barely used.

@Traumdeuter

Need: sleepyhead / babynest / etc. Would not sleep for longer than 10 minutes until I borrowed one in desperation.

Waste: matching nursery furniture. Now stuck with a small wardrobe that doesn’t fit regular clothes properly. Babies’ clothes don’t need to be hung up!

Ooh have been wondering about baby nests, there's so many different types. Do you have recommendations? Wasn't whether to get it as they'd quickly outgrow it 6 months.

I've seen one in aldi online with good reviews. I suppose it's overwhelming for them to sleep in a cot as a newborn.

Must haves for us, having had 2 babies quite close together - cheeky wipes. The kids are 2 and 4, and we still use them daily. Muslins too, all different sizes, small ones are good for mopping up mess, huge ones can be used to swaddle. We still use those as well, although not daily any more. A decent changing mat, and changing storage. A really good changing bag - I used mine almost solidly for 3 years. We also still use the white noise machines, good ones will play continuously until you switch them off.

Waste of money - baby bath, never used. Rocking crib, kids hated it. Baby lotion, again almost never used. Cot mobile - never got round to putting it up.

Must haves:

Muslins. All the muslins. All. Of. Them.
Totter & Tumble play mat.
IKEA antelop high chair.
Nursing cushion.
Haakaa. I bought 3.

*Regrets:
*
Changing mat. Pointless and gets disgusting. He gets changed on a towel on the bed.
Steriliser. Simply not needed.

@katmarie @Simonjt

What did you both use instead of a baby bath? We only have a walk on shower and was thinking of getting angelcare bath support.

[quote staycalmmama]**@katmarie* @Simonjt*

What did you both use instead of a baby bath? We only have a walk on shower and was thinking of getting angelcare bath support.[/quote]
I just hold her in the shower, or sit her on me in the bath.

Must haves: bibados and a handheld vacuum for weaning

Regrets: well it was secondhand so I wasn't too fussed but the Sleepyhead did nothing to help with our napping problem when she was tiny. But we passed it on to a friend's baby who loved it, so they're all different I guess!

The only must have is Amazon prime, so you don't buy things until/unless you actually need them

Must haves: different/slings baby carriers, Phil & Ted's travel cot

Regrets: not really a regret but before she was born I agonised over which large muslins to buy. I don't think I really understood what they were. I mean, I looked at them for hours and hours. Turns out it's just a thin blanket that she used for a few weeks? Could've really saved some time there!

@staycalmmama I ended up with a sleepyhead as that was the brand I’d borrowed. Got the bigger size for transitioning to the cotbed at 7-8 months too, and ended up using the pad from the Sleepyhead for even longer, placed under the top sheet. For newborns there are quite a big range I think.

Must haves.

Sling/carrier
Cheeky chompers blanket that can be clipped onto the sling (pretty much the only blanket I use)
Muslins
Nappy caddy (in every room we use)
Sleeping bags
Swaddle bags/wraps
Nuby rapid cool to cool bottles down quickly
Sterilising wipes to wipe dummies that inevitably end up on the floor as soon you go out
Lansinoh nipple cream

Regret buying.

Bouncy chair (works for a lot but mine hates it)
Nuby portable uv dummy steriliser (good idea but too bulky - wipes as above much easier)
Too many blankets - we use sleeping bags at night and he just kicks them off in the day time.
White noise penguin toy - just download a white noise app for free, does the same thing really.
Too many clothes

Must haves:
Cot bed - DC was in this from 4 months (before that, they refused to sleep anywhere but in the pram bassinet so my advice would be to get a pram bassinet approved for overnight sleeping and then you can use it as a travel cot until they outgrow it). DC is still in it at 4yo (the bed part obviously) and, despite being tall, is only now beginning to outgrow it.
Breastfeeding cover - this is personal preference obviously, but it made me much less self-conscious to have one of these tucked in my bag for feeding while out and about as DC wasn't a discreet baby who would latch on quietly so you'd hardly notice them. They yelled and fussed a lot while settling down which meant everyone looked at us.
Gro swaddles/sleeping bags - so much less fuss than blankets and trying to swaddle them yourself. DC screamed for the first few months unless tightly swaddled like a little package.

Regret buying:

• Sling. DC didn't really like it and I found it difficult to put on. We ended up only using it a handful of times through the airport.
• Swing. DC liked being rocked to sleep but just looked faintly puzzled in the swing.
• Too many baby clothes.

Regrets: too many clothes. I was given loads second-hand, which was great. I shouldn't have bought any, as I didn't need to with all that I was given (although it's been nice to dress him in my own choices too)

Best buys: next2me crib, pram (fox 2), sling/carrier

Must have:

• loved my sling for carrying DD2 around shops or places that weren’t buggy friendly. Also saved us a few times when DD wasn’t feeling well and struggled to sleep.

• our cot top changer saved my back and doesn’t take up the space of a changing table

Regrets:

• Next to Me as DD2 coslept until she was far too big for it and then she went into her own room.